The History and Culture of Olmec Civilization

this production is brought to you by the world history encyclopedia and the study of antiquity and the middle ages omek civilization the olmec civilization located in ancient mexico prospered in pre-classical formative mesoamerica from circa 1200 bce to circa 400 bce monumental sacred complexes massive stone sculptures ball games the drinking of chocolate and animal gods were all features of olmec culture passed on to those people who followed this first great mesoamerican civilization with their heartlands in the gulf of mexico now the states of veracruz and tabasco olmec influence and trade activity spread from 1200 bce even

reaching as far south as present-day nicaragua many olmec sites suffered systematic and deliberate destruction of their monuments sometime between 400 and 300 bce the olmec enigma the olmec civilization presents something of a mystery indeed we do not even know what they called themselves as olmec was their aztec name and meant rubber people due to a lack of archaeological evidence their ethnic origins and the location and extent of many of their settlements are not known the olmecs did however codify and record their gods and religious practices using symbols the precise significance of this record is much

debated but at the very least its complexity does suggest some sort of organized religion involving a priesthood the omek religious practices of sacrifice cave rituals pilgrimages offerings ball courts pyramids and a seeming awe of mirrors was also passed on to all subsequent civilizations in mesoamerica until the spanish conquest in the 16th century ce omek cities olmec prosperity was initially based on exploiting the fertile and well-watered coastal areas of the gulf of mexico to grow such crops as corn and beans often twice yearly which allowed for an agricultural surplus they also no doubt gathered the plentiful

local supply of plant food palm nuts and sea life including turtles and clams by circa 1200 bce significant urban centers developed at san lorenzo the earliest la venta laguna de la serros tres sapotes and las limas san lorenzo reached its peak of prosperity and influence between 1200 and 900 bce when its strategic position safe from flooding allowed it to control local trade typical olmec trade goods included obsidian jade serpentine mica rubber pottery feathers and polished mirrors of illmanite and magnetite evidence of san lorenzo's high culture includes the presence of mound structures possibly an early ball

court carved basalt drains through one of the man-made mounds and the red palace structure with painted red floors and workshops around 900 bce the site of san lorenzo displays evidence of systematic destruction whilst laventa conversely began to flourish and becoming the new capital it eventually supported a population of some eighteen thousand the three sites of san lorenzo la venta and laguna de loseros all had a bilateral symmetry in their planning and at laventa the first pyramid in mesoamerica was constructed it is the premeditated architectural layout of the religious centers of these settlements that is most

striking for example at laventa the buildings are placed symmetrically along a north-south axis with four colossal heads facing outwards at key points seemingly acting as guardians to the complex a huge ceremonial step pyramid now a shapeless mound sunken plaza once lined with two meter high basalt columns [Music] and two smaller pyramids mounds provide features that would be copied time and again at the major sites of later mesoamerican cultures with whom equal attention was paid to the precise alignment of buildings [Music] as with san lorenzo suffered systematic and deliberate destruction of its monuments sometime between 400

and 300 bce religious beliefs as with other areas of olmec culture details of their religion are sketchy nevertheless with an ever increasing body of archaeological evidence it is possible to piece together some of the most important features of olmec religion the olmecs seem to have had a particular reverence for natural places which connected with the important junctions of sky earth and the underworld for example caves could lead to the underworld and mountains which had both springs and caves could offer access to all three planes important omek mountain sites were el manatee chakatinko and oksatitlan the

names of the gods of the olmec are not known other than that they often represented phenomena such as rain the earth and especially maize for this reason identifiable gods from olmec art have been given numbers instead of names ergo god six the omex gave special significance to the animals present in their environment especially those at the top of the food chain such as jaguars eagles caimans snakes and even sharks identifying them with divine beings and perhaps also believing that powerful rulers could transform themselves at will into such fearsome creatures the olmecs also liked to mix

animals to create weird and wonderful creatures such as the were jaguar a cross between a human and a jaguar which may have been their supreme deity we also know that they worshipped a skydragon and that they believed four dwarves held up the sky possibly representing the four cardinal directions which along with other olmec gods became so important in later mesoamerican religions olmec art the most striking legacy of the olmec civilization must be the colossal stone heads they produced these were carved in basalt and all display unique facial features so that they may be considered portraits

of actual rulers the heads can be nearly three meters high and eight tons in weight and the stone from which they were worked was in some cases transported 80 kilometers or more presumably using huge balsa river rafts seventeen have been discovered ten of which are from san lorenzo the ruler often wears a protective helmet from war or the ball game and sometimes shows the subject with jaguar paws hanging over the forehead perhaps representing a jaguar pelt worn as a symbol of political and religious power the fact that these giant sculptures depict only the head may

be explained by the belief in mesoamerican culture that it was the head alone which bore the soul another permanent record of the olmecs is found in rock carvings and paintings often made around cave entrances they most typically depict seated rulers as for example at oxotidlan where a figure wears a green bird suit and at chalkatsingo where another ruler sits on her throne surrounded by a maze landscape at other sites there are also paintings of cave rituals for example jade and ceramic were other popular materials for sculpture and also wood some examples of which were remarkably

well preserved in the bogs of el manatee [Music] one of the gods most commonly rendered in small sculpture was god four sometimes called the rain baby who was a toothless human baby with an open mouth cleft head and headband sometimes with the addition of strips of crinkled paper hanging at the side of his face another feature seen in the gods of later cultures and representing the paper and rubber sap strips which were burnt during rites as the smoke was thought to propitiate rain perhaps the most significant jade carving is the kuntz axe a ceremonial axe

head now in the american museum of natural history in new york the jade has been worked to represent a were jaguar creature using only jade tools and then polished perhaps using a jade abrasive animals were a popular subject especially those most powerful ones such as jaguars and eagles intriguingly the omex often bury their sculptures even larger pieces perhaps in a ritual act of memory legacy in mesoamerica [Music] the olmecs influenced the civilizations they came into contact with across mesoamerica particularly in sculpture in ceramic and jade and objects featuring omek imagery have been found at teo

ponte kwanet lan 650 kilometers distant from the olmec heartland in addition many deities featured in omak art and religion such as the sky dragon a sort of caiman creature with flaming eyebrows and the feathered snake god would reappear in similar form in later religions the snake god especially would be transformed into the major gods kukulkan for the maya and quetzalcoatl for the aztecs this artistic and religious influence along with the features of precisely aligned ceremonial precincts monumental pyramids sacrificial rituals and ball courts meant that all subsequent mesoamerican cultures would owe a great deal to their

mysterious forerunners the olmecs [Music] you