Olmec

Olmec info goes here.

The Olmecs are most commonly remembereed for the large stone heads that they have left behind. Most of these heads, however, have been defaced or destroyed in some way. The cause for this however is unknown some think that the heads were destroyed when the olmec were conquered. Others think that the Olmec acctually destroyed the heads themselves as a sacrifice to the gods. These heads were transported as far as 50 miles to other parts of the empire. These heads varried in size but were normally arranged in a circular formation, and were known to be used to represent meetings and important ceremonies. They were almost 36,000 pounds, and were found in the south of Mexico

I also found out that the Olmec had a unique farming style called slash and burn farming. The Maya also practiced this type of farming. This style starts with the cutting back of trees, and waiting for the trees or other cut back forest to dry out. Then these farmers would light the forrest on fire and let all of the brush burn to the ground, leaving nothing but ashes. These ashes are surprizingly fertile and were used to farm on for serveral years, before the farmers would use on to the next forest. This is all lie

media type="youtube" key="t27iQUdmMbY&hl=en" height="355" width="425" This video is done by Professor Joel Tate, from Germanna Community College This video talks about the La Venta tomb, where Miriam's alter was found. This could imply child saccrifice, but also is used to show someone emerging from the underworld. In much of the Olmec art, someone coming out of a cave is meant to show someone coming out of the underworld. This alter also has another portion, displaying 4 other beings much like this one. These other figures, however, instead display children that are very much alive, but have deformed heads. There is also a calender that is said to be the oldest in Mexico, traced back to the Olmec in 3113 BCE. The Olmec people, are actually from a portion of Africa near Sierra Leone called the Mandinka Region. According to research by Clyde Winters, they wrote and spoke the language of that region. Writing on artifacts in Mexico is found to be identical to the script in West Africa. - (Brittany)

Below is a map of where the Olmecs are: The heartland is on the southern coast of the gulf of Mexico. They were around as early as 1500 BCE through 100 BCE. One site that was especially significant was La Venta. It was a major development in the civilization. It was important to us today because we found artifacts of four huge heads. One of them was almost 9 feet tall.

Most of their art was monumental statuary and jadework. A lot of the art had a religious meaning to the people. Many Olmec art portrayed animals such as the fish vessel: Most of their jadework wasn't very big. The colossal heads have helmets on them. They have been the subject of much speculation because there are no known pre- Colombian texts to explain them. Many people now think that they were of rulers. Some other people think that they are things like symbols for a group. The heads are different sizes. The Rancho La Cobata head is 3.4 m high. A pair at Tres Zapotes is 1.47 m high. The largest heads weigh more that 20 tons. You can tell this was a big accomplishment for them because they didn't have modern day things like cranes to move it. The heads were first carved from a block or boulder of volcanic basalt. They were moved around and carved in different places. They were usually transported by dragging them or floating them. Just imagine how hard it would be to drag something 20 tons or doing it in water. A lot of the heads were mutilated and buried / destroyed. We do not know why they did this. These heads caused people to think that the Olmecs were Africans who emigrated to the "new world". They think this because the heads have characteristics such as flat faces and thick lips. For pictures on the giant heads look at this youtube video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=lKo9mUeIueM
 * - Nick Schumann**

MIRIAM ROSEN: The Olmec civilization was a civilization in Mexico from the years 1500 BC to about 200 BC. Their height was between 700 and 400 BC. They were probably the first real civilization in the Mexico region. However, their civilization declined and somehow disappeared due to unknown reasons. Some causes for their leave might have to do with other groups taking control or a change in the climate that didn't allow them to grow their food. However, many of their traditions lasted. For example, jade, one of their prized possessions, came to be worth more than gold.

Jade Figurine

The Olmec civilization is known to have one of the first, if not the first writing system in the Western Hemisphere. The symbols used were similar to those of the Mayans that came later. Archaeologists found the Cascajal Block in 2006 that shows many of the Olmec symbols written on a type of stone block.

Another interesting fact I found that the Olmecs may have possibly invented a type of ballgame that was very popular in later times. 12 rubber balls were found in 1600 BCE around an Olmec bog. This game was not played just for fun, but it also had religious purposes. It seems that the Olmecs might have used this ball game in order to determine who would be sacrificed to the gods. There would be two teams with two captains. You wouldn't be able to touch the ball with your hands, just with your knees and hips. The captain of the winning team, in return for their victory, would be sacrificed to the gods. This person's family would then be eternally honored.

Religion: The rulers with the most power were usually the most religious people, such as priests and shamans.

Although there is no evidence that the Olmecs practiced human sacrifice, many skeletons of newborn and unborn children have been found at El Manati, the same bog where the rubber balls were found. So, the question is, how did the babies die? Below is an altar. The figure in the middle is holding what appears to be a child, suggesting child-sacrifice.



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 * Posted by Tiffany:**

The Olmecs were located in La Venta, Tabasco, and San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan and Laguna de los Cerros in Veracruz. They were highly developed, and even had a writing system. They also had a complex calendar, and created unique art.

The Olmecs constructed their cities around religion. The cities were constructed around a central mound, which was used for religious ceremonies. Around 900 BCE, the mounds were then replaced with pyramid-like structures.

After this occurred, the Olmec society began to divide. It began to divide into what we know, today, as a hierarchy. This is known because of the structure of the houses. The "upper class" began to have their houses made out of wooden walls, and the roof was made out of palm tree leaves and clay.

Another thing the Olmecs had was an irrigation system. It supplied the city with water for the crops. The Olmecs did not only rely on crops; they also hunted and fished. The waterways were good for transportation and fishing.

The Olmecs used Basalt to construct religious structures, palaces, plazas, and the large stone heads. Basalt was likely traded with other people near the Olmecs due to the fact that you could use it for building.

The Olmecs are most famous for their giant heads. It is thought that the heads were probably modeled after notable citizens, possible leaders, or other important people. Most of the facial feature had slanted eyes, and large lips. Today, people have argued that the Olmecs were of African or Asian decent because of these features, but it is controversial; some believe that it is overgeneralization, and some evidence suggests that the Olmecs had deformed heads because sometimes at birth the baby's head was put into a cone shape.

Some animals involved in the art of the Olmecs include jaguars, serpents and monkeys. There are numerous pieces of art that show a transition from animals to humans. This means that the Olmecs thought there was a connection between animals and humans. Also, there are sculptures that have been made out of jade. Jade was not indigenous to the area where the Olmecs were, so this indicates that the Olmecs were probably in contact and traded with other people.

http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/latinamerica/meso/cultures/olmec.html

 * This link below is pictures of Jade art, and their dates. This is the link from my last two pictures. **


 * http://www.pre-columbianjade.com/ **

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MIRIAM'S POST:

Now I’m going to write a little about Olmec art. Much of the Olmecs' art had to do in some way with their religion. Certain animals were thought to be closely related to the spiritual beings at that time called shamans. People could access the powers of these animals through these sculptures. One of the most common animals that was portrayed in art was the jaguar. The ferocity and strength of a jaguar and the intellect and spirituality of man make the perfect combination. The picture below shows this combination in a piece of art entitled, "Jaguar Child".

Jaguar Fangs:

Eagles Spirit: Then there was, as previously shown, the renowned Olmec heads. This particular miniature head below was found at the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, and is thought to have been a tributary gift to the Aztec Empire. The Olmecs used a number system composed of bars counting for 5 and dots counting for 1. Below is a relief of a date around the year 31 BC, one of the earliest dates ever recorded in Mesoamerica. "El Luchador" a.k.a "The Wrestler" (notice the motion in his body): La Venta Offering 4---Reenactment of a burial ritual scene: Life-size portrait of a man with a deformed head:

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MIRIAM'S POST:

I found this cool 4-minute video from youtube that shows lots of pictures of the huge heads that the Olmec's made. media type="youtube" key="lKo9mUeIueM&hl=en" height="355" width="425" Sorry, I just realized that this is the same youtube video as Nick's above. The giant heads that the Olmecs built seem to have certain Asian and African characteristics, suggesting that the origins of this civilization has roots in Asian and African communities.

I was also interested in La Venta. La Venta, found in Tabasco, Mexico, is an archelogical site that marks the Olmec civilization. La Venta was mostly a sacred site, used for ritual sacrifices and ceremonies. La Venta is comprised mostly of the Great Pyramid, Complex A, and a large plaza. There are also many burial tombs and monuments throughout the site.

La Venta Site Map: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/La_Venta_site_plan.png The Great Pyramid: The Great Pyramid is one of the oldest pyramids in Mesoamerica. It's 33 meters high, and the volume is about 100,000 cubic meters.

There is also Complex A and Complex B with plazas, altars, and other ritual objects. In Complex A there are 5 "Massive Offerings" of serpentine blocks. Below is a picture of mosaics made of serpentine blocks.



Other artifacts at La Venta: Colossal Heads:



Altars, which might have been used as thrones for the Olmec rulers during important ceremonies:

The video that Nick found about La Venta is really good to get an overall idea of the La Venta site.

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__ **Bloodletting:** __ There has been a lot of evidence that “bloodletting” or “autosacrifice” was practiced throughout the Olmec’s history. There have been many discoveries of ceramic** ** (the link is to a picture of a normal stingray spike) and [|maguey thorns] at places like La Venta. On the other hand there is really no Olmec that clearly shows scenes of sacrifice or the victims of sacrifice. Also there is no Olmec “sacrificial artifacts” discovered as of yet. There have, however, been discoveries of things like complete skeletons of new- or unborn babies. This could possibly suggest that they practiced infant sacrifices, but it is still not clear how the babies died. Something that could perhaps show that they did sacrifice infants is their representation, on altars, of limp “were-jaguar” babies. Many people believe that this artwork associates the Olmec with infant sacrifice. An example of this artwork is the famous ** at La Venta. **
 * --posted by Emily Fedewa--**