Olmec 77260 225643413 2008-07-14T18:24:30Z Pigman 285310 clean up using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] [[Image:Mexico.Tab.OlmecHead.01.jpg|thumb|right|350px|'''Monument 1''', one of the four Olmec colossal heads at [[La Venta]]. This one is nearly 3 metres (9 ft) tall.]] The '''Olmec''' were an ancient [[Pre-Columbian]] people living in the [[tropic]]al lowlands of south-central [[Mexico]], roughly in what are the modern-day [[mexican state|states]] of [[Veracruz]] and [[Tabasco]] on the [[Isthmus of Tehuantepec]]. Their cultural influence, however, extends far beyond this region. The Olmec flourished during the [[Mesoamerican chronology|Formative]] (or [[Mesoamerican chronology|Preclassic]]) period, dating from 1400 [[Common Era|BCE]] to about 400 BCE, and are believed to have been the progenitor civilization of later [[Mesoamerica]]n civilizations.<ref>See [[Olmec influences on Mesoamerican cultures]] for a more in depth treatment of the "mother/sister culture" question.</ref> ==Overview== [[Image:Olmec Heartland Overview 4.svg|right|thumb|350px|The Olmec heartland.]]The Olmec heartland is characterized by swampy lowlands punctuated by low hills, ridges, and volcanoes. The [[Sierra de Los Tuxtlas|Tuxtlas Mountains]] rise sharply in the north, along the Gulf of Mexico's [[Bay of Campeche]]. Here the Olmecs constructed permanent city-temple complexes at several locations, among them [[San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán]], [[La Venta]], [[Tres Zapotes]], and [[Laguna de los Cerros]]. In this heartland, the first Mesoamerican civilization would emerge and reign from 1200&ndash;400 BCE. ===Early history=== Olmec history originated at its base within San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, where distinctively Olmec features begin to emerge before 1200 BCE. The rise of civilization here was probably assisted by the local ecology of well-watered rich [[alluvial]] soil, encouraging high [[maize]] production. This ecology may be compared to that of other ancient centers of civilization: the [[Nile]], [[Indus]], and [[Yellow River]] valleys, and [[Mesopotamia]]. It is thought that the dense population concentration at San Lorenzo encouraged the rise of an [[elite]] class that eventually ensured Olmec dominance and provided the social basis for the production of the symbolic and sophisticated luxury artifacts that define Olmec culture. Many of these luxury artifacts, such as [[Jade use in Mesoamerica|jade]], [[Obsidian use in Mesoamerica|obsidian]] and [[magnetite]], came from distant locations and suggest that early Olmec elites had access to an extensive trading network in Mesoamerica. The [[Jade use in Mesoamerica|source of the most valued jade]], for example, is found in the [[Motagua River]] valley in eastern [[Guatemala]], and their obsidian is mainly from sources also in the Guatemala highlands, such as El Chayal and San Martín Jilotepeque. ===La Venta=== [[Image:La Venta Stele 19.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Monument 19 from La Venta is the earliest known representation of a feathered serpent in Mesoamerica.<br><small>© George & Audrey DeLange, used with permission.</small>]]The first Olmec center, San Lorenzo, was all but abandoned around 900 BCE at about the same time that La Venta rose to prominence. Environmental changes may have been responsible for this move, with certain important rivers changing course. A wholesale destruction of many San Lorenzo monuments also occurred around this time, [[circa]] 950 BCE, which may point to an internal uprising or, less likely, an invasion.<ref>Coe (1967), p. 72. Alternatively, the mutilation of these monuments may be unrelated to the decline and abandonment of San Lorenzo. Some researchers believe that this mutilation had ritualistic aspects, particularly since most mutilated monuments were reburied in a row.</ref> Following the decline of San Lorenzo, La Venta became the most prominent Olmec center, lasting from 900 BCE until its abandonment around 400 BCE. During this period, the [[La Venta#Great Pyramid|Great Pyramid]] and various other ceremonial complexes were built at La Venta.<ref>Diehl, p. 72-74.</ref> ===Decline=== It is not known with any clarity what caused the eventual extinction of the Olmec culture. It ''is'' known that between 400 and 350 BCE, population in the eastern half of the Olmec heartland dropped precipitously, and the area would remain sparsely inhabited until the 19th century.<ref>Diehl, p. 82. Nagy, p. 270, however, is more circumspect, stating that in the [[Grijalva river]] delta, on the eastern edge of the heartland, "the local population had significantly declined in apparent population density. . . A low-density Late Preclassic and Early Classic occupation . . . may have existed; however, it remains invisible." .</ref> This depopulation was likely the result of environmental changes: perhaps the result of important rivers changing course or silting up due to agricultural practices.<ref>Diehl, p. 82.</ref> What ever the cause, within a few hundred years of the abandonment of the last Olmec cities, successor cultures had become firmly established. The Tres Zapotes site, on the western edge of the Olmec heartland, continued to be occupied well past 400 BCE, but without the hallmarks of the Olmec culture. This post-Olmec culture, often labeled [[Epi-Olmec culture|Epi-Olmec]], has features similar to those found at [[Izapa]], some 330 miles (550 km) to the southeast. ==Notable innovations== {{See also|Olmec influences on Mesoamerican cultures}} As the first civilization in Mesoamerica, the Olmecs are credited, or speculatively credited, with many "firsts", including the [[Mesoamerican ballgame]], [[Bloodletting in Mesoamerica|bloodletting]] and perhaps [[Mesoamerica#Human sacrifice|human sacrifice]], [[writing]] and [[epigraphy]], and the invention of [[0 (number)|zero]] and the [[Mesoamerican calendars|Mesoamerican calendar]]. Their political arrangements of strongly [[hierarchy|hierarchical]] [[city-state]]s were repeated by nearly every other Mexican and Central American civilization that followed. Some researchers, including [[artist]] and [[art historian]] [[Miguel Covarrubias]], even postulate that the Olmecs formulated the forerunners of many of the later Mesoamerican [[deities]].<ref>Covarrubias, p. 27.</ref> [[Image:La Venta Altar 5 (Ruben Charles).jpg|thumb|left|350px|Altar 5 from La Venta. The inert were-jaguar baby held by the central figure is seen by some as an indication of child sacrifice. In contrast, [[:Image:Altar 5 from La Venta, left side (Ruben Charles).jpg|its sides show bas-reliefs of humans holding quite lively were-jaguar babies]].]] ===Bloodletting and sacrifice=== There is a strong case that the Olmecs practiced bloodletting, or autosacrifice. Numerous natural and ceramic [[stingray]] spikes and [[maguey]] [[spine (botany)|thorn]]s have been found in the archaeological record of the Olmec heartland.<ref>For example, see Joyce et al., "Olmec Bloodletting: An Iconographic Study".</ref> The argument that the Olmecs instituted human sacrifice is significantly more speculative. No Olmec or Olmec-influenced sacrificial artifacts have yet been discovered and there is no Olmec or Olmec-influenced artwork that unambiguously shows sacrificial victims (similar, for example, to the ''danzante'' figures of [[Monte Albán]]) or scenes of human sacrifice (such as can be seen in [[:Image:El Tajin Ballcourt Mural (Tom Aleto).jpg|the famous ballcourt mural]] from [[El Tajin]]). However, at the [[El Manatí]] site, disarticulated skulls and femurs as well as complete skeletons of newborn or unborn children have been discovered amidst the other offerings, leading to speculation concerning infant sacrifice. It is not yet known, though, how the infants met their deaths.<ref>Ortiz et al., p. 249.</ref> Some authors have also associated infant sacrifice with Olmec ritual art showing limp "[[Jaguars in Mesoamerican culture|were-jaguar]]" babies, most famously in La Venta's [[La Venta#Altars 4 & 5|Altar 5]] (to the left) or [[Las Limas Monument 1|Las Limas figure]] (see [[Olmec#Religion|Religion]] below). Definitive answers will need to await further findings. ===Writing=== The Olmec may have been the first civilization in the [[Western Hemisphere]] to develop a writing system. Symbols found in 2002 and 2006 date to 650 BCE<ref>[http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20021207/fob1.asp Script Delivery: New World writing takes disputed turn]</ref> and 900 BCE<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Writing May Be Oldest in Western Hemisphere. |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/15/science/15writing.html |quote=A stone slab bearing 3,000-year-old writing previously unknown to scholars has been found in the Mexican state of Veracruz, and archaeologists say it is an example of the oldest script ever discovered in the Western Hemisphere. |publisher=[[New York Times]] |date= |accessdate=2008-03-30 }}</ref> respectively, preceding the oldest [[Zapotec]] writing dated to about 500 BCE. <ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title='Oldest' New World writing found |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5347080.stm |quote=Ancient civilisations in Mexico developed a writing system as early as 900 BC, new evidence suggests. |publisher=[[BBC]] |date= |accessdate=2008-03-30 }}</ref> <ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Oldest Writing in the New World |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/313/5793/1610 |quote=A block with a hitherto unknown system of writing has been found in the Olmec heartland of Veracruz, Mexico. Stylistic and other dating of the block places it in the early first millennium before the common era, the oldest writing in the New World, with features that firmly assign this pivotal development to the Olmec civilization of Mesoamerica. |publisher=[[Science]] |date= |accessdate=2008-03-30 }}</ref> The 2002 find at the [[San Andrés (Mesoamerican site)|San Andrés]] site shows a bird, speech scrolls, and glyphs that are similar to the later [[Mayan hieroglyphs]].<ref>Pohl et al. (2002).</ref> Known as the [[Cascajal Block]], the 2006 find from a site near San Lorenzo, shows a set of 62 symbols, 28 of which are unique, carved on a [[serpentine]] block. A large number of prominent archaeologists have hailed this find as the "earliest pre-Columbian writing".<ref>Skidmore. These prominent proponents include [[Michael D. Coe]], [[Richard A. Diehl]], [[Karl Taube]], and [[Stephen D. Houston]].</ref> Others are skeptical because of the stone's singularity, the fact that it had been removed from any archaeological context, and because it bears no apparent resemblance to any other [[Mesoamerican writing system]].<ref>Bruhns, et al.</ref> There are also well-documented later hieroglyphs known as "[[Epi-Olmec script|Epi-Olmec]]", and while there are some who believe that Epi-Olmec may represent a transitional script between an earlier Olmec writing system and [[Maya civilization|Maya]] writing, the matter remains unsettled. [[Image:Estela C de Tres Zapotes.jpg|thumb|250px|right|'''The back of Stela C from [[Tres Zapotes]]'''<br>This is the second oldest Long Count date yet discovered. The numerals 7.16.6.16.18 translate to September 3, 32 BCE (Julian). The glyphs surrounding the date are what is thought to be one of the few surviving examples of [[Epi-Olmec script]].]] ===Compass=== Based on his find of an Olmec [[hematite]] artifact in [[Central America]], the American astronomer John Carlson has suggested that "the Olmec may have discovered and used the geomagnetic lodestone compass earlier than 1000 BC". If true, this "predates the Chinese discovery of the geomagnetic lodestone compass by more than a millennium".<ref name="John B. Carlson 753">John B. Carlson, “Lodestone Compass: Chinese or Olmec Primacy? Multidisciplinary Analysis of an Olmec Hematite Artifact from San Lorenzo, Veracruz, Mexico”, ''Science'', New Series, Vol. 189, No. 4205 (Sep. 5, 1975), pp. 753-760 (753)</ref> Carlson speculates that the Olmecs may have used similar artifacts as a directional device for astrological or [[geomancy|geomantic]] purposes, or to orientate their temples, the dwellings of the living or the interments of the dead. The artifact itself is part of a [[lodestone]] that had been polished into a bar with a groove at one end (that Carlson suggests may have been used for sighting). The artifact now consistently points 35.5 degrees west of north, but may have pointed north-south when whole. It is possible that the artifact was in fact used as some constituent piece of a decorative ornament.<ref>{{cite book|last=Needham|first=Joseph |coauthors=Lu Gwei-Djen|title=Trans-Pacific Echoes and Resonances: Listening Once Again |publisher=World Scientific |date=1985 |pages=21}}</ref> No other similar [[hematite]] artifacts have yet been found. ===Mesoamerican Long Count calendar & invention of the zero concept=== {{See also|0 (number)#History of zero}} The [[Mesoamerican Long Count calendar|Long Count calendar]] used by many subsequent Mesoamerican civilizations, as well as the concept of zero, may have been devised by the Olmecs. Because the six artifacts with the earliest Long Count calendar dates were all discovered outside the immediate Maya homeland, it is likely that this calendar predated the Maya and was possibly the invention of the Olmecs.<ref>Diehl, p. 186.</ref> Indeed, three of these six artifacts were found within the Olmec heartland area. But an argument against an Olmec origin is the fact that the Olmec civilization had ended by the 4th century BCE, several centuries before the earliest known Long Count date artifact. The Long Count calendar required the use of zero as a place-holder within its [[vigesimal]] (base-20) positional numeral system. A shell glyph —[[Image:MAYA-g-num-0-inc-v1.svg]] — was used as a zero symbol for these Long Count dates, the second oldest of which, on Stela C at [[Tres Zapotes]], has a date of 32 [[Common Era|BCE]]. This is one of the earliest uses of the zero concept in history.<ref>The Monument 1 in the [[Maya Civilization|Maya]] site [[El Baúl]], [[Guatemala]], bears a Long Count Date of 37 BCE.</ref> ===Mesoamerican ballgame=== The Olmec, whose name means "rubber people" in the [[Nahuatl]] language of the [[Aztec]]s (see below), are strong candidates for originating the [[Mesoamerican ballgame]] so prevalent among later cultures of the region and used for recreational and religious purposes.<ref>Miller and Taube (1993, p.42). Pool, p. 295.</ref> A dozen rubber balls dating to 1600 BCE or earlier have been found in [[El Manatí]], an Olmec sacrificial [[bog]] 10 kilometres east of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan.<ref>Ortiz C.</ref> These balls predate the earliest ballcourt yet discovered at [[Paso de la Amada]], [[circa]] 1400 BCE. The fact that the balls were found with other sacrificial items, including pottery and [[jadeite]] [[celt (tool)|celts]] indicates that even at this early date, the ballgame had religious and ritual connotations. ==Art== [[Image:Olmec fish vessel.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Fish Vessel, 12th–9th century BCE.<br>Height: 6.5 inches (16.5 cm).]]Olmec artforms remain in works of both monumental statuary and small [[jade]]work. Much Olmec art is highly stylized and uses an iconography reflective of a religious meaning. Some Olmec art, however, is surprisingly naturalistic, displaying an accuracy of human anatomy perhaps equaled in the pre-Columbian New World only by the best Maya Classic era art. Common [[motif (art)|motifs]] include downturned mouths and slit-like slanting eyes, both of which are seen as representations of "[[Olmec were-jaguar|were-jaguars]]". In addition to human subjects, Olmec artisans were adept at animal portrayals, for example, the fish vessel to the right or the bird vessel in the [[Olmec#Gallery|gallery below]]. While [[Olmec figurine]]s are found abundantly in sites throughout the [[Mesoamerican chronology#Pre-Classic Era|Formative Period]], it is the stone monuments such as the colossal heads that are the hallmarks of Olmec culture.<ref>Pool, p. 105.</ref> These monuments can be divided into four classes:<ref>Pool, p. 106.</ref> *Colossal heads *Rectangular "altars" or, more likely, thrones such as Altar 5 shown above. *Free-standing in-the-round sculpture, such as the twins from [[El Azuzul]] or [[San Martin Pajapan Monument 1]]. *[[Stela]]e, such as La Venta Monument 19 above. These types of monuments were generally created later than the colossal heads, altars, or free-standing sculptures. Over time they moved from simple representation of figures, such as Monument 19 or [[:Image:Olmec woman.jpg|La Venta Stela 1]], toward representations of historical events, particularly acts legitimizing rulers.<ref>Pool, p. 106 & 176.</ref> This trend would culminate in post-Olmec monuments such as [[La Mojarra Stela 1]], which combines images of rulers with [[Mesoamerican writing systems|script]] and [[Mesoamerican Long Count calendar|calendar dates]]. ===Colossal heads=== The best-recognized aspect of the Olmec civilzation are the enormous helmeted heads.<ref>Diehl, p. 111.</ref> As no known pre-Columbian text explains these, these impressive monuments have been the subject of much speculation. Once theorized to be [[Mesoamerican ballgame|ballplayers]],<ref>Coe (2002), p. 69: "They wear headgear rather like American football helmets which probably served as protection in both war and in the ceremonial game played…throughout Mesoamerica".</ref> it is now generally accepted that these heads are portraits of rulers.<ref>Pool, p. 118; Diehl, p. 112.</ref> According to archaeologist David Grove, the unique elements in the headgear can also be recognized in headdresses of human figures on other Gulf Coast monuments, suggesting that these are personal or group symbols.<ref>Grove, p. 55.</ref> There have been 17 colossal heads unearthed to date. {| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;" |- ! Site ! Count ! Designations |- | style="width:110px" | San Lorenzo | style="width:40px" align="center" |10 | style="width:200px" |Colossal Heads 1 through 10 |- | La Venta | align="center" |4 | Monuments 1 through 4 |- |Tres Zapotes |align="center" |2 |Monuments A & Q |- |Rancho la Cobata |align="center" |1 |Monument 1 |} The heads range in size from the Rancho La Cobata head, at 3.4 m high, to the pair at Tres Zapotes, at 1.47 m. It has been calculated that the largest heads weigh more than 20 [[ton]]s.<ref>In particular, Williams and Heizer (p. 29) calculated the weight of San Lorenzo Colossal Head 1 at 25.3 [[short ton]]s, or 23 [[tonne]]s.</ref> The heads were carved from single blocks or boulders of volcanic [[basalt]], found in the [[Sierra de Los Tuxtlas|Tuxtlas Mountains]]. The Tres Zapotes heads were sculpted from basalt found at the summit of Cerro el Vigía, at the eastern end of the Tuxtlas. The San Lorenzo and La Venta heads, on the other hand, were likely carved from the basalt of Cerro Cintepec, on the southeastern side,<ref>See Williams and Heizer for more detail.</ref> perhaps at the nearby [[Llano del Jicaro]] workshop, and dragged or floated to their final destination.<ref>Pool, p. 129.</ref> It has been estimated that moving a colossal head required the efforts of 1,500 people for three to four months.<ref>Pool, p. 103.</ref> Some of the heads, and many other monuments, have been variously mutilated, buried and disinterred, reset in new locations and/or reburied. It is known that some monuments, and at least two heads, were recycled or recarved, but it is not known whether this was simply due to the scarcity of stone or whether these actions had ritual or other connotations. It is also suspected that some mutilation had significance beyond mere destruction, but some scholars still do not rule out internal conflicts or, less likely, invasion as a factor.<ref>Diehl, p. 119.</ref> The flat-faced, thick-lipped characteristics of the heads have caused some debate due to their apparent resemblance to [[Africa]]n facial characteristics. Based on this comparison, some have insisted that the Olmecs were Africans who had emigrated to the New World. However, mainstream Mesoamerican scholars now reject this view, and offer other possible explanations for the facial features of the colossal heads, for example, that the heads were carved in this manner due to the shallow space allowed on the basalt boulders. Others note that in addition to the broad noses and thick lips, the heads have the Asian eye-fold, and that all these characteristics can still be found in modern Mesoamerican Indians. To support this, in the 1940s artist/art historian [[Miguel Covarrubias]] published a series of photos of Olmec artworks and of the faces of modern Mexican Indians with very similar facial characteristics.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} ==Beyond the heartland== [[Image:Formative Era sites.svg|thumb|right|350px|The major Formative Period (Pre-Classic Era) sites in present-day Mexico which show Olmec influences in the archaeological record.]] {{Main|Olmec influences on Mesoamerican cultures}} Olmec-style artifacts, designs, figurines, monuments and iconography have been found in the archaeological records of sites hundreds of kilometres outside the Olmec heartland. These sites include: *[[Tlatilco]] and [[Tlapacoya (Mesoamerican site)|Tlapacoya]], major centers of the [[Tlatilco culture]] in the [[Valley of Mexico]], where artifacts include hollow [[Olmec figurine#Baby-face motif|baby-face motif]] figurines and Olmec designs on ceramics. * [[Chalcatzingo]], in Valley of [[Morelos]], which features Olmec-style monumental art and rock art with Olmec-style figures. *[[Teopantecuanitlan]], in [[Guerrero]], which features Olmec-style monumental art as well as city plans with distinctive Olmec features. Other sites showing probable Olmec influence include [[Abaj Takalik]] in Guatemala and [[Zazacatla]] in Morelos. The [[Juxtlahuaca]] and [[Oxtotitlan]] cave paintings are attributed by most researchers to the Olmecs.<ref>For example, Diehl, p. 170.</ref> Many theories have been advanced to account for the occurrence of Olmec influence far outside the heartland, including long-range trade by Olmec merchants, Olmec colonization of other regions, Olmec artisans travelling to other cities, conscious imitation of Olmec artistical styles by developing towns – some even suggest the prospect of Olmec military domination outside of their heartland or that the Olmec iconography was actually developed outside the heartland.<ref>Flannery et al. (2005) hint that Olmec iconography was first developed in the [[Tlatilco culture]].</ref> The generally accepted, but by no means unanimous, interpretation is that the Olmec-style artifacts, in all sizes, became associated with elite status and were adopted by non-Olmec Formative Period chieftains in an effort to bolster their status.<ref>See for example Reilly; Stevens (2007); Rose (2007). For a full discussion, see [[Olmec influences on Mesoamerican cultures]].</ref> ==Daily life== ===Ethnicity and language=== While the actual ethnicity of the Olmec remains unknown, various hypotheses have been put forward. In 1976 [[Lyle Campbell]] and Terrence Kaufman published a paper which argued that there are a core number of loanwords which have apparently spread from a Mixe-Zoquean language into many other [[Mesoamerican languages]].<ref> For example the words for "incense", "cacao", "corn", many names of various fruits, "nagual/shaman", "tobacco", "adobe", "ladder", "rubber", "corn granary", "squash/gourd", and "paper" in many Mesoamerican languages seem to have been borrowed from an ancient Mixe-Zoquean language.</ref> Campbell and Kaufman go on to argue that these core loanwords can be seen as an indicator that the Olmecs, the first "highly civilized society" of Mesoamerica, spoke a language which is an ancestor of the [[Mixe-Zoquean languages]], and that they spread a vocabulary particular to their culture to the other peoples of Mesoamerica. Since the Mixe-Zoquean languages still are, and historically are known to have been, spoken in an area corresponding roughly to the [[Olmec heartland]], and since the Olmec culture is now generally regarded as the first "high culture" of Mesoamerica, it has generally been regarded as probable that the Olmec spoke a Mixe-Zoquean language.<ref>Campbell & Kaufman (1976), pp. 80–9.</ref> ===Religion and mythology===<!-- This section is linked from [[Olmec]] --> [[Image:Las Limas Monument 1 (O Cadena).jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Las Limas Monument 1]], considered an important realisation of Olmec mythology. The youth holds a were-jaguar infant, while four iconic supernaturals are incised on the youth's shoulders and knees. ]]{{Main|Olmec mythology}} Olmec religious activities were performed by a combination of rulers, full-time priests, and [[shaman]]s. The rulers were probably the most important religious figures, with their links to the Olmec deities or supernaturals providing legitimacy for their rule.<ref>Diehl, p. 106. See also J. E. Clark, , p. 343, who says "much of the art of La Venta appears to have been dedicated to rulers who dressed as gods, or to the gods themselves".</ref> There is also considerable evidence for shamans in the Olmec archaeological record, particularly in the so-called "[[Olmec figurine#transformation figurines|transformation figurines]]". Olmec mythology has left no documents comparable to the [[Popul Vuh]] from [[Maya mythology]], and therefore any exposition of Olmec mythology must rely on interpretations of surviving monumental and portable art (such as the Las Limas figure at top right), and comparisons with other Mesoamerican mythologies. Olmec art shows that such deities as the Feathered Serpent and the Rain Spirit were already in the Mesoamerican pantheon in Olmec times. ===Social and political organization=== Little is directly known about the societal or political structure of Olmec society. Although it is assumed by most researchers that the colossal heads and several other sculptures represent rulers, we have nothing like the [[Maya civilization|Maya]] [[stelae]] ([[:Image:Catherwood stela d.jpg|see drawing]]) which name specific rulers and provide the dates of their rule. Instead, archaeologists have relied on the data that they do have, such as large- and small-scale site surveys.<ref>See Santley, et al., p.4, for a discussion of Mesoamerican centralization and decentralization. See Cyphers for a discussion of the meaning of monument placement.</ref> There is considerable centralization within the Olmec heartland, first at San Lorenzo and then at La Venta. No other Olmec heartland site comes close to these in terms of size or in quantity and quality of architecture and sculpture. Diehl, for example, refers to San Lorenzo and La Venta as "Regal-Ritual Cities".<ref>Diehl, p. 61-62.</ref> This demographic centralization leads archaeologists to propose that in general Olmec society was also highly centralized, with a strongly hierarchial structure, concentrated first at San Lorenzo and then at La Venta, with an elite that was able to use their control over materials such as monumental stone and water to exert command and legitimize their regime.<ref>See, for example, Cyphers, for a more detailed discussion.</ref> Even during their heydey, however, it is doubtful that San Lorenzo or La Venta controlled all of the Olmec heartland, despite their size.<ref>Pool, p. 20.</ref> There is some doubt, for example, that La Venta controlled Arroyo Sonso, only some 35 km away.<ref>Pool, p. 164.</ref> Studies of the Tuxtla Mountain settlements, some 60 km away, indicate that this area was composed of more or less egalitarian communities outside the control of lowland centers.<ref>Pool, p. 175</ref> ===Village life and diet=== Despite their size, San Lorenzo and La Venta were largely ceremonial centers, and the vast majority of the Olmec lived in villages similar to present-day villages and hamlets in Tabasco and Veracruz. These villages were located on higher ground and consisted of several scattered houses. A modest temple may have been associated with the larger villages. The individual dwellings would consist of a house, an associated lean-to, and one or more storage pits (similar in function to a [[root cellar]]). A nearby garden was used for medicinal and cooking herbs and for smaller crops such as the domesticated [[sunflower]]. Fruit trees, such as avocado or cacao, were likely available nearby.<ref>This diet section is built from Diehl (2004), Davies, and Pope et al.</ref> Although the river banks were used to plant crops between flooding periods, the Olmecs also likely practiced [[swidden]] (or slash-and-burn) agriculture to clear the forests and shrubs, and to provide new fields once the old fields were exhausted.<ref>Pohl.</ref> Fields were located outside the village, and were used for maize, beans, [[Cucurbitaceae|squash]], [[manioc]], sweet potato, as well as cotton. Based on studies of two villages in the Tuxtlas Mountains, it is known that maize cultivation became increasingly important to the Olmec diet over time, although the diet remained fairly diverse.<ref>VanDerwarker, p. 195, and Lawler, ''Archaeology'' (2007), p. 23, quoting VanDerwarker.</ref> The fruits and vegetables were supplemented with fish, turtle, snake, and mollusks from the nearby rivers, and crabs and shellfish in the coastal areas. Birds were available as food sources, as were game including [[peccary]], oppossum, raccoon, rabbit, and in particular deer.<ref>VanDerwarker, p. 141-144. VanDerwarker notes that some bone types are better preserved than others: "large mammal bones more than small mammal bones, mammal bones more than bird bones, etc", p. 117, and therefore the samplings will likely be biased toward the larger mammals, with birds and fish underpresented.</ref> Despite the wide range of hunting and fishing available, [[midden]] surveys in San Lorenzo have found that the domesticated dog was the single most plentiful source of animal protein.<ref>Davies, p. 39.</ref> [[Image:Kunz Axe.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The jade Kunz Axe, first described by [[George Frederick Kunz|George Kunz]] in 1890. Although shaped like an axe head, with an edge along the bottom, it is unlikely that this artifact was used except in ritual settings.<br> Height: 11 in (28 cm).]] ==History of scholarly research== Olmec culture was unknown to historians until the mid-19th century. In 1862 the fortuitous discovery of a colossal head near [[Tres Zapotes]], [[Veracruz]] by José Melgar y Serrano<ref>Stirling, p. 8.</ref> marked the first significant rediscovery of Olmec artifacts. In the latter half of the 19th century, Olmec artifacts such as the Kunz Axe (right) came to light and were recognized as belonging to a unique artistic tradition. [[Frans Blom]] and [[Oliver La Farge]] made the first detailed descriptions of [[La Venta]] and [[:Image:San Martin Pajapan Monument 1 retouched.jpg|San Martin Pajapan Monument 1]] during their 1925 expedition. However, at this time most archaeologists assumed the Olmec were contemporaneous with the Maya – even Blom and La Farge were, in their own words, "inclined to ascribe them to the Maya culture".<ref>Quoted in Coe (1968), p. 40.</ref>. [[Matthew Stirling]] of the [[Smithsonian Institution]] conducted the first detailed scientific excavations of Olmec sites in the 1930s and 1940s. Stirling, along with art historian [[Miguel Covarrubias]], became convinced that the Olmec predated most other known Mesoamerican civilizations. In counterpoint to Stirling, Covarrubias, and [[Alfonso Caso]], however, Mayanists [[Eric Thompson]] and [[Sylvanus Morley]] argued for Classic era dates for the Olmec artifacts. The question of Olmec chronology came to a head at a 1942 [[Tuxtla Gutierrez]] conference, where Alfonso Caso declared that the Olmecs were the "mother culture" ("''cultura madre''") of Mesoamerica.<ref>"Esta gran cultura, que encontramos en niveles antiguos, es sin duda madre de otras culturas, como la maya, la teotihuacana, la zapoteca, la de El Tajín, y otras” ("This great culture, which we encounter in ancient levels, is without a doubt mother of other cultures, like the Maya, the Teotihuacana, the Zapotec, that of El Tajin, and others".) Caso (1942), p. 46.</ref> Shortly after the conference, [[radiocarbon dating]] proved the antiquity of the Olmec civilization, although the "mother culture" question generates much debate even 60 years later. ===Etymology=== The name "Olmec" means "rubber people" in [[Nahuatl]], the language of the [[Aztec]], and was the Aztec name for the people who lived in the area of the Olmec heartland in the 15th and 16th centuries, some 2000 years after what we know as the Olmec culture died out. The term "rubber people" refers to the ancient practice, spanning from ancient Olmecs to Aztecs, of extracting [[latex]] from ''[[Castilla elastica]]'', a [[rubber tree]] in the area. The juice of a local vine, ''[[Ipomoea alba]],'' was then mixed with this latex to create [[rubber]] as early as [[1600 BC|1600 BCE]].<ref name = "MIT">[http://web.mit.edu/org/m/materialculture/www/rubberprocessing.html Rubber Processing], MIT.</ref> Early modern explorers and archaeologists, however, mistakenly applied the name "Olmec" to the rediscovered ruins and artifacts in the heartland decades before it was understood that these were not created by people the Aztecs knew as the "Olmec", but rather a culture that was 2000 years older. Despite the mistaken identity, the name has stuck. It is not known what name the ancient Olmec used for themselves; some later Mesoamerican accounts seem to refer to the ancient Olmec as "[[Tamoanchan]]".<ref>Coe (2002) refers to an old Nahuatl poem cited by [[Miguel Leon-Portilla]] which itself refers to a land called "Tamoanchan":<blockquote>in a certain era<br />which no one can reckon<br />which no one can remember<br />[where] there was a government for a long time".</blockquote> Coe interprets Tamoanchan as a Mayan language word meaning 'Land of Rain or Mist' (p. 61).</ref> Another term sometimes used to describe the Olmec culture is ''tenocelome'', meaning "mouth of the [[jaguar]]". ==Alternative origin speculations== {{main|Olmec alternative origin speculations}} In part because the Olmecs developed the first Mesoamerican civilization and in part because so little is known of the Olmecs (relative, for example, to the [[Maya civilization|Maya]] or [[Aztec]]), a wide number of Olmec alternative origin speculations have been put forth. Although several of these speculations, particularly the theory that the Olmecs were of [[Pre-Columbian Africa-Americas contact theories|African origin]], have become well-known within [[popular culture]], popularized by [[Ivan van Sertima|Ivan van Sertima's]] book ''They Came Before Columbus'', they are not considered credible by the vast majority of Mesoamerican researchers. ==Gallery==<!-- This section is linked from [[Olmec]] --> <center><gallery> Image:Olmec mask at Met.jpg|An Olmec mask. Image:Sanlorenzohead6.jpg|Colossal Olmec head no. 6 from [[San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan]] Image:El Azuzul twin.jpg|One of the "twins" from [[El Azuzul]] Image:Olmec Bird jug.jpg|Bird Vessel, 12th–9th century BCE Image:Olmec celts from Met.jpg|Three [[celt (tool)|celts]], Olmec ritual objects. Image:Jaguarbaby.jpg| An Olmec were-jaguar Image:Olmec-style_bottle_1.jpg|Olmec style bottle, reputedly from [[Las Bocas]], 1100 - 800 BCE Image:Olmecmask.jpg|An Olmec jade mask. Image:Juxtlahuaca Ruler (M Lachniet).jpg|An Olmec-style painting from the [[Juxtlahuaca]] cave. </gallery></center> ==See also== *[[El Azuzul]] - a small archaeological site in the Olmec heartland *[[Cerro de las Mesas]] - a post-Olmec archaeological site ==Footnotes== {{commonscat|Olmec}} {{reflist|2}} ==References== *{{aut|Arnaiz-Villena A, Vargas-Alarcon G, Granados J, Gomez-Casado E, Longas J, Gonzales-Hevilla M, Zuniga J, Salgado N, Hernandez-Pacheco G, Guillen J, Martinez-Laso J.;}} ''[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11144288 HLA genes in Mexican Mazatecans, the peopling of the Americas and the uniqueness of Amerindians.] - Bibliographic entry in [[PubMed]]. *{{cite journal |author={{aut|Bruhns, Karen O.}} |coauthors={{aut|Nancy L. Kelker, Ma. del Carmen Rodríguez Martínez, Ponciano Ortíz Ceballos, [[Michael D. Coe]], Richard A. Diehl, [[Stephen D. Houston]], [[Karl A. Taube]]}}, and {{aut|Alfredo Delgado Calderón}} |year=2007 |date=[[2007-03-09]] |title=Did the Olmec Know How to Write? |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/citation/315/5817/1365b |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=315 |issue=5817 |pages=pp.1365–1366 |doi=10.1126/science.315.5817.1365b |location=Washington, DC|publisher=[[American Association for the Advancement of Science]]|issn=0036-8075 |oclc=206052590 |pmid=17347426}} *{{aut|Campbell, L., and T. Kaufman}} (1976), "A Linguistic Look at the Olmecs", ''American Antiquity'', 41. *{{aut|Clark, John E.}} (2000) "Gulf Lowlands: South Region", in ''Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: an Encyclopedia'', ed. Evans, Susan; Routledge. *{{aut|Coe, Michael D.}} (1967) "San Lorenzo and the Olmec Civilization", in [http://www.doaks.org/Olmec.pdf ''Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec''], Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. *{{aut|Coe, Michael D.}} (2002) ''Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs'' London: Thames and Hudson; pp. 64, 75-76. *{{aut|Covarrubias, Miguel}} (1946) "Olmec Art or the Art of La Venta", trans. Robert Pirazzini, reprinted in ''Pre-Columbian Art History: Selected Readings", ed. A. Cordy-Collins, Jean Stern, 1977, pp. 1-34. *{{aut|Cyphers, Ann}} (1999) "[http://www.doaks.org/Social/social07.pdf From Stone to Symbols: Olmec Art in Social Context at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán]", in ''Social Patterns in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica'', David C. Grove and Rosemary A. Joyce, eds., Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. *{{aut|Davies, Nigel}} (1982) ''The Ancient Kingdoms of Mexico'', Penguin Books. *{{aut|Diehl, Richard A.}} (2004) ''The Olmecs: America's First Civilization'', Thames & Hudson, London. *{{aut|Fagan, Brian}} (1991) ''Kingdoms of Gold, Kingdoms of Jade'', Thames and Hudson, London. *{{aut|Flannery, Kent; Balkansky, A. K.; Feinman, Gary M.; Grove, David C.; Marcus, Joyce; Redmond, Elsa M.; Reynolds, Robert G.; Sharer, Robert J.; Spencer, Charles S.; Yaeger, Jason}} (2005) "[http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/102/32/11213 Implications of new petrographic analysis for the Olmec "mother culture" model]", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, accessed March 2007. *{{aut|Grove, David C.}} (1981) "Olmec monuments: Mutilation as a clue to meaning", in ''The Olmec and their Neighbors: Essays in Memory of Matthew W. Stirling''. E. P. Benson, ed.; Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library, pp. 49–68. *{{aut|Guimaräes, A. P.}} (2004) "Mexico and the early history of magnetism", in ''Revista mexicana de Fisica'', v 50 (1), June 2004, p 51 - 53. *{{aut|Joyce, Rosemary; Edging, Richard; Lorenz, Karl; Gillespie, Susan}}, (1991) [http://www.mesoweb.com/pari/publications/RT08/Bloodletting.pdf "Olmec Bloodletting: An Iconographic Study"] in ''Sixth Palenque Roundtable, 1986'', ed. V. Fields, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma. *{{aut|Lawler, Andrew}} (2007) "Beyond the Family Feud", in ''Archaeology''; Mar/Apr 2007, Vol. 60 Issue 2, pp. 20-25. *{{aut|Magni, Caterina}} (2003) ''Les Olmèques. Des origines au mythe'', Seuil, Paris. *{{aut|Maldonado-Salazar, Carlos; Hector; Cesar; David}}; [http://www.library.thinkquest.org/28059/olmecas.htm Olmec etymology source] "Olmecs" (1999), ThinkQuest, accessed June 4, 2007. *{{aut|National Science Foundation}} (2002) [http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/02/pr0297.htm Scientists Find Earliest "New World" Writings in Mexico], 2002. *{{aut|Niederberger Betton, Christine}} (1987) ''Paléopaysages et archéologie pré-urbaine du bassin de México. Tomes I & II'' published by Centro Francés de Estudios Mexicanos y Centroamericanos, Mexico, D.F. [http://www.pitt.edu/~laap/books/ce008.html (Resume)] *{{aut|Ortíz C., Ponciano; Rodríguez, María del Carmen}} (1999) [http://www.doaks.org/Social/social09.pdf "Olmec Ritual Behavior at El Manatí: A Sacred Space"] in ''Social Patterns in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica'', eds. Grove, D. C.; Joyce, R. A., Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C., p. 225 - 254. *{{aut|Pohl, Mary; Kevin O. Pope, Christopher von Nagy }} (2002) "[http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/298/5600/1984.pdf Olmec Origins of Mesoamerican Writing], in ''Science'', vol. 298, pp. 1984-1987. *{{aut|Pohl, Mary}} "[http://www.famsi.org/reports/99069/index.html Economic Foundations of Olmec Civilization in the Gulf Coast Lowlands of México]", [http://www.famsi.org Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc.], accessed March 2007. *{{aut|Pool, Christopher}} (2007) ''Olmec Archaeology and Early Mesoamerica'', Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-78882-3. *{{aut|Pope, Kevin; Pohl, Mary E. D.; Jones, John G.; Lentz, 3 David L.; von Nagy, Christopher; Vega, Francisco J.; Quitmyer Irvy R.}} (2001) "[http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/292/5520/1370 Origin and Environmental Setting of Ancient Agriculture in the Lowlands of Mesoamerica]", ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'', 18 May 2001:Vol. 292. no. 5520, pp. 1370 - 1373. *{{aut|Reilly III, F. Kent}} “Art, Ritual, and Rulership in the Olmec World” in ''Ancient Civilizations of Mesoamerica: a Reader'', Blackwell Publishing Ltd, p. 369-395. *{{aut|Rose, Mark}} (2005) [http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/olmec/index.html "Olmec People, Olmec Art"], in ''Archaeology'' (online), the Archaeological Institute of America, accessed February 2007. *{{aut|Santley, Robert S., Michael J. Berman, Rani T. Alexander}} (1991) "The Politicization of the Mesoamerican Ballgame and its Implications for the Interpretation of the Distribution of Ballcourts in Central Mexico", in ''The Mesoamerican Ballgame'', =Vernon Scarborough, David R. Wilcox eds., University of Arizona Press, ISBN 0-8165-1360-0. *{{aut|Skidmore, Joel}} (2006) "[http://www.mesoweb.com/reports/Cascajal.pdf The Cascajal Block: The Earliest Precolumbian Writing]", [http://www.mesoweb.com Mesoweb], accessed March 2007. *{{aut|Stevenson, Mark}} (2007) [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070126/ap_on_sc/mexico_olmec_city “Olmec-influenced city found in Mexico”], Associated Press, accessed February 8, 2007. *{{aut|Stirling, Matthew}} (1967) "Early History of the Olmec Problem", in [http://www.doaks.org/Olmec.pdf ''Dumbarton Oaks Conference on the Olmec''], E. Benson, ed., Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. *{{aut|Stoltman, J. B., Marcus, J., Flannery, K. V., Burton, J. H., Moyle, R. G.}} (2005) "Petrographic evidence shows that pottery exchange between the Olmec and their neighbors was two-way", ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'', August 9, 2005, v. 102, n. 32, pp. 11213-11218 . *{{aut|Taube, Karl}} (2004), "The Origin and Development of Olmec Research", in [http://www.doaks.org/OlmecArt.pdf ''Olmec Art at Dumbarton Oaks''], Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. *{{aut|VanDerwarker, Amber}} (2006) ''Farming, Hunting, and Fishing in the Olmec World'', University of Texas Press, ISBN 0292709803. *{{aut|von Nagy, Christopher}} (1997) "The Geoarchaeology of Settlement in the Grijalva Delta", in ''Olmec to Aztec: Settlement Patterns in the Ancient Gulf Lowlands", Barbara L. Stark and Philip J. Arnold III, Eds., University of Arizona Press, Tucson, ISBN 0-8165-1689-8. *{{aut|Wilford, John Noble}} (2005) [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/15/science/15olme.html?hp "Mother Culture, or Only a Sister?"], ''The New York Times,'' March 15, 2005. *{{aut|Williams, Howel; and Heizer, Robert F.}}(1965) "Sources of Rocks Used in Olmec Monuments", in ''[http://www.mesoweb.com/olmec/publications/Williams&Heizer1965-OCR.pdf Sources of Stones Used in Prehistoric Mesoamerican Sites]'', University of California Department of Anthropology. ==External links== *[http://www.authenticmaya.com/jade.htm Olmec Blue Jade Source] *[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/olmec-colossal-heads-1.htm El contexto Arquaeologico de la cabeza colosal olmeca numero 7 de San Lorenzo] *[http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=000B4706-9551-1509-955183414B7F0000&ref=rss Stone Etchings Represent Earliest New World Writing] Scientific American; Ma. del Carmen Rodríguez Martínez, Ponciano Ortíz Ceballos, Michael D. Coe, Richard A. Diehl, Stephen D. Houston, Karl A. Taube, Alfredo Delgado Calderón, Oldest Writing in the New World, ''Science'', Vol 313, Sep 15 2006, pp1610-1614. *[http://www.tdx.cbuc.es/TESIS_UAB/AVAILABLE/TDX-1125105-174042//ecc1de1.pdf Drawings and photographs of the 17 colossal heads] *[http://www.authenticmaya.com/olmecs_origins_in_guatemala.htm Olmecs Origins in the Mesoamerican Southern Pacific Lowlands] {{Pre-Columbian}} [[Category:Olmec| ]] [[Category:Ancient peoples]] [[Category:Civilizations]] [[Category:Mesoamerican cultures]] [[Category:Pre-Columbian cultures of Mexico]] [[Category:Nahuatl words and phrases]] {{Link FA|pt}} [[ca:Civilització olmeca]] [[cs:Olmékové]] [[da:Olmeker]] [[de:Olmeken]] [[es:Olmeca]] [[eo:Olmekoj]] [[eu:Olmeka]] [[fr:Olmèques]] [[it:Olmechi]] [[he:אולמקים]] [[lt:Olmekai]] [[nl:Olmeken]] [[ja:オルメカ]] [[no:Olmek]] [[pl:Kultura Olmeków]] [[pt:Olmecas]] [[ru:Ольмеки]] [[simple:Olmec]] [[sk:Olmékovia]] [[sl:Olmeki]] [[sr:Олмеци]] [[sh:Olmeci]] [[fi:Olmeekit]] [[sv:Olmeker]] [[uk:Ольмеки]] [[zh:奥尔梅克文明]]