The child is nude, with its eyes shut and furrowed brow, appearing to cry. He was often too called upon as a medicine man to heal the sick. [81] There is also considerable evidence for shamans in the Olmec archaeological record, particularly in the so-called "transformation figures". The Olmec were the first major civilization in Mexico. [48] The 'Olmec-style' refers to the combination of deep-set eyes, nostrils, and strong, slightly asymmetrical mouth. Check out our olmec civilization selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. Medicine in the Pre-Columbian Americas When the conquistador Hernn Cortes and his followers crossed the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in the year 1519, they expected to find primitive natives like those encountered in the Caribbean islands to the east. There are no written records of Olmec commerce, beliefs, or customs, but from the archaeological evidence, it appears they were not economically confined. Map of the Olmec Civilization. Developing independently is rare and when it happens the culture is known as 'pristine'. The heads date from at least before 900 BCE and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization. and is considered the "mother culture" of societies that came later, such as the Maya and Aztec. The Olmec civilization, located in ancient Mexico, prospered in Pre-Classical (Formative) Mesoamerica from c. 1200 BCE to c. 400 BCE. Source for information on Olmec Religion: Encyclopedia of Religion dictionary. Olmec art is essentially an expression of the religious beliefs that permeated the entire society. Most agriculture took place outside of the villages in fields cleared using slash-and-burn techniques. Based on this comparison, some writers have said that the Olmecs were Africans who had emigrated to the New World. The religion of the Olmec people significantly influenced the social development and mythological world view of Mesoamerica.Scholars have seen echoes of Olmec supernatural in the subsequent religions and mythologies of nearly all later pre-Columbian era cultures.. To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser. See Santley, et al., p.4, for a discussion of Mesoamerican centralization and decentralization. [45], Richard Diehl wrote "There can be no doubt that the heads depict the American Indian physical type still seen on the streets of Soteapan, Acayucan, and other towns in the region. You cannot download interactives. They also likely had gardens in which the Olmec would grow medicinal herbs and small crops, like sunflowers. The Olmec people were born from the early farming peoples of the Tabasco region in modern-day Mexico. [104][105], The name "Olmec" means "rubber people" in Nahuatl, the language of the Nahuas, and was the Aztec Empire term for the people who lived in the Gulf Lowlands in the 15th and 16th centuries, some 2000 years after the Olmec culture died out. It is seated and reaches one arm up. The art of healing has existed among nearly every civilization. San Lorenzo, about 56 kilometers (35 miles) south of the Gulf of Mexico in the modern Mexican state of Veracruz, was at its height around 1150 to 900 C.E. Because the Olmec did not have much writing beyond a handful of carved glyphssymbolsthat survived, we don't know what name the Olmec people gave themselves. The Olmec Civilization was one of the most influential ancient civilizations of the early Americas, and though its dominance of the region faded in the last centuries before the Common Era, the Olmec civilization is commonly thought to be the mother culture of many other cultures that appeared in the region in later years. Seventeen monumental stone representations of human heads sculpted from large basalt boulders have been unearthed in the region to date. 126151. The jaguar represents a belief system that was deeply involved in the supernatural and the shamanic vision of reality. Pre-Olmec cultures had flourished in the area since about 2500 BCE, but by 1600-1500 BCE, Early Olmec culture had emerged. The bone consistency in two of them allowed the study of their mitochondrial DNA to be carried out successfully, as part of an investigation that proposes the comparative analysis of the genetic information of the Olmecs with that obtained from subjects from other Mesoamerican societies under the advice of the specialists Dr. Mara de Lourdes Muoz Moreno and Miguel Moreno Galeana, both at CINVESTAV in Mexico. [77] Campbell and Kaufman proposed that the presence of these core loanwords indicated that the Olmec generally regarded as the first "highly civilized" Mesoamerican society spoke a language ancestral to MixeZoquean. [109], Partly because the Olmecs developed the first Mesoamerican civilization, and partly because little is known of them compared to, for example, the Maya or Aztec, a number of Olmec alternative origin speculations have been put forth. She or he will best know the preferred format. For the Olmec, an early Mexican Gulf Coast culture (1500 to 400 BC), this plant had geological, nutritional, spiritual, and economic significance. Caso (1942), p. 46. [36], The heads range in size from the Rancho La Cobata head, at 3.4m (11ft) high, to the pair at Tres Zapotes, at 1.47m (4ft 10in). Olmec Civilization - Crystalinks. [71], The Long Count calendar required the use of zero as a place-holder within its vigesimal (base-20) positional numeral system. No Olmec or Olmec-influenced sacrificial artifacts have yet been discovered; no Olmec or Olmec-influenced artwork unambiguously shows sacrificial victims (as do the danzante figures of Monte Albn) or scenes of human sacrifice (such as can be seen in the famous ballcourt mural from El Tajn).[60]. Direct link to joe's post what do the colossal head, Posted 5 months ago. This word is composed of the two words lli [oli], meaning "natural rubber", and mcatl [mekat], meaning "people", so the word means "rubber people". The Long Count calendar used by many subsequent Mesoamerican civilizations, as well as the concept of zero, may have been devised by the Olmecs. Wichmann, Beliaev & Davletshin, (in press Sep 2008). [3] The Olmec civilization was first defined through artifacts which collectors purchased on the pre-Columbian art market in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It's now housed in the Parque-Museum La Venta, in Villahermosa, the capital of the Mexican state of Tabasco. The Olmec civilization is known for being the first great Mesoamerican culture. If it was volcanic activity, then that would infer that there is evidence of volcanic eruptions between 400 and 350 BCE. Direct link to ccovncconv's post It was inferred that the , Posted 5 years ago. [78] However, new evidence has pushed back the proposed date for the split of Mixean and Zoquean languages to a period within the Olmec era. Some of the reasons for trade revolve around the lack of obsidian in the heartland. The Sierra de los Tuxtlas rises sharply in the north, along the Gulf of Mexico's Bay of Campeche. 1996 - 2023 National Geographic Society. [34], Curators and scholars refer to "Olmec-style" face masks but, to date, no example has been recovered in an archaeologically controlled Olmec context. Diehl, p. 106. The earliest recovered Long Count dated is from Monument 1 in the. The Olmec were the first major civilization in Mexico. [91] While the Olmec were not the first in Mesoamerica to organize long-distance exchanges of goods, the Olmec period saw a significant expansion in interregional trade routes, more variety in material goods exchanged and a greater diversity in the sources from which the base materials were obtained. See ", See Diehl, p. 108 for the "ancient America" superlatives. [34][35], Seventeen colossal heads have been unearthed to date. Chalcatzingo, in Valley of Morelos, central Mexico, which features Olmec-style monumental art and rock art with Olmec-style figures. Fruit trees, such as avocado or cacao, were probably available nearby. What is known about archaeological cultures is based on artifacts, rather than texts. It was practiced by priests who inherited their position and received extensive education. The Olmec people were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding regions from approximately 1500 BC to about 400 BC. The Olmec thrived in the hot and humid Gulf of Mexico. The Olmecs cities are the first cities of Mesoamerica, nearly a millennium before the Mayan cities (Le Mirador). [89] Studies of the Sierra de los Tuxtlas settlements, some 60km (35mi) away, indicate that this area was composed of more or less egalitarian communities outside the control of lowland centers.[90]. Virtual Event. Serra Puche et al., p. 36, who argue that "While Olmec art sometimes represents leaders, priests, and possibly soldiers, it is difficult to imagine that such institutions as the army, priest caste, or administrative-political groups were already fully developed by Olmec times." Colossal heads (which can be up to 3m (10ft) tall); Rectangular "altars" (more likely thrones), Free-standing in-the-round sculpture, such as the twins from, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 21:57. The Olmec civilization is what is known as an archaeological culture. The Olmecs are said to have been ancestors of the Jaquar. As we look at a statue of the Olmec people, we see the wide nose and thick lips typical of people of African heritage. 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". The Olmec culture was first defined as an art style, and this continues to be the hallmark of the culture. [47] By 1500 BCE early Olmec sculptors mastered the human form. Olmec artworks are considered among ancient America's most striking.[4]. The role of the Olmec in Mesoamerican society is a matter of hot debate between archaeologists and anthropologists. In fact, many scholars call the Olmecs the "mother culture" of . Scholars calculate that the largest heads weigh between 25 and 55 tonnes (28 and 61 short tons). The Olmec society was built on agriculture. This means there is a collection of artifacts thought by archaeologists to represent a particular society. Direct link to phoebe.jeske's post Probably because of the f, Posted 6 years ago. Religious activities regarding these deities probably included the elite rulers, shamans, and possibly a priest class making offerings at religious sites in La Venta and San Lorenzo. In fact, Olmec artifacts have been found across Mesoamerica, indicating that there were extensive interregional trade routes. No one is certain the end of the Olmecs civilization. The term Mesoamerica was derived from the Greek which means "Middle America". [61] Some authors have associated infant sacrifice with Olmec ritual art showing limp werejaguar babies, most famously in La Venta's Altar 5 (on the right) or Las Limas figure. The medicine of the Incas transcended its time and is still practiced today by many of the Andean settlers. It has been speculated that the Olmecs derived in part from the neighboring Mokaya or MixeZoque cultures. It existed from 1400 BC to 400 BC. Overview. The Olmec religion practised was Shamanism, believing that every person had an inner animal spirit. The Aztecs believed disease to be caused either by natural or divine reasons. Their calendar and religious beliefs appear to have influenced later cultures. [68] 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.[69]. The Olmecs (/ l m k s, o l-/) were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization.Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco.It has been speculated that the Olmecs derived in part from the neighboring Mokaya or Mixe-Zoque cultures.. Volcanic eruptions during the Early, Late, and Terminal Formative periods would have blanketed the lands with ash and forced the Olmec to move their settlements. [1] They were the first Mesoamerican civilization, and laid many of the foundations for the civilizations that followed. Direct link to BlakeZim's post What does cleft heads mea, Posted 2 years ago. Given that the Olmec worshiped anthropomorphic deities, do you think they believed their rulers were human beings? Direct link to Peyton Carter's post What people are credit fo, Posted 4 years ago. 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. They lived in the tropical lowlands on the Gulf of Mexico in the present-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. [94] Fields were located outside the village, and were used for maize, beans, squash, cassava, and sweet potato. It is thought that early Olmec culture appeared around 1600 BC and it flourished from 1200 BC to 400 BC in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the present-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco. There are several Olmec sites thought to be important centers of activity, of which San Lorenzo and La Venta are the most significant. [19] La Venta sustained the Olmec cultural traditions with spectacular displays of power and wealth. Scholars believe 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. In the investigations of the San Lorenzo Tenochtitln Archaeological Project at the sites of San Lorenzo and Loma del Zapote, several human burials from the Olmec period were found. His description of the object, published several years later after further visits to the site, represents the earliest documented report of an artifact of what is now known as the Olmec culture.[99]. However, none of the heads are alike, and each boasts a unique headdress, which suggests they represent specific individuals. Ortz C., Ponciano; Rodrguez, Mara del Carmen. Discussion of Olmec culture (15 mins), Portal:Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Population history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Painting in the Americas before European colonization, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Olmecs&oldid=1142167173, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Articles needing additional references from December 2018, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Pool, p. 118; Diehl, p. 112. [56], Although the archaeological record does not include explicit representation of Olmec bloodletting,[57] researchers have found other evidence that the Olmec ritually practiced it. 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 artistic styles by developing towns some even suggest the prospect of Olmec military domination or that the Olmec iconography was actually developed outside the heartland. A case in point is the image of the jaguar that is so dominant in Olmec art. What is the Olmec civilization known for? The Olmecs (Olmec Culture of Ancient Mexico) Watch on. The Olmec is the earliest known major civilization of Mesoamerica or Pre-Columbian America. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. All rights reserved. [15] The city of Teopantecuanitlan in Guerrero is also relevant in this regard. The hearth of Olmec civilization is located in the tropical lowlands of Mexico's southern Gulf Coast region, in the majestic archaeological site of San Lorenzo. [49] The Olmec people believed that in the distant past a race of werejaguars was made between the union of a jaguar and a woman. In particular, Williams and Heizer (p. 29) calculated the weight of San Lorenzo Colossal Head 1 at 25.3, Wiercinski, A. See also Pool (2007), pp. [27] Common motifs include downturned mouths and a cleft head, both of which are seen in representations of werejaguars. [22] According to archaeologists, this depopulation was probably the result of "very serious environmental changes that rendered the region unsuited for large groups of farmers", in particular changes to the riverine environment that the Olmec depended upon for agriculture, hunting and gathering, and transportation. and lasted until about 400 B.C.E. Located about 40 kilometres (25mi) south of Mexico City, Zazacatla covered about 2.5 square kilometres (1sqmi) between 800 and 500BCE.[51]. [26] Wrought in a large number of media jade, clay, basalt, and greenstone among others much Olmec art, such as The Wrestler, is naturalistic. Direct link to David Alexander's post Olmec culture was unknown, Posted 3 years ago. [100], Matthew Stirling of the Smithsonian Institution conducted the first detailed scientific excavations of Olmec sites in the 1930s and 1940s. Known for their colossal stone head sculptures, they first emerged in the Gulf of Mexico near present-day Tabasco and Veracruz in 1600 BCE. [34] The "Olmec-style" also very distinctly combines facial features of both humans and jaguars. Scholars have not determined how the infants met their deaths. Diehl, p. 10), which is only accurate within a given range (e.g. There is also a use of "cleave" that means "To join to" (which is used in some wedding services where the bride and groom are each admonished to "cleave to" the other. [87] And there is no evidence that San Lorenzo or La Venta controlled, even during their heyday, all of the Olmec heartland. In the Olmec civilization the reoccurring motif of the Were-jaguar can be seen in many statuettes and carvings. [5][6] Rubber was an important part of the ancient Mesoamerican ballgame. The mask would presumably have been about 2000 years old when the Aztecs buried it, suggesting such masks were valued and collected as were Roman antiquities in Europe. Where did they put them? Hearing about the curious find while travelling through the region, Melgar y Serrano first visited the site in 1862 to see for himself and complete the partially exposed sculpture's excavation. "Cleft" is an adjective indicating that something has been split or cut. A nearby garden was used for medicinal and cooking herbs and for smaller crops, such as the domesticated sunflower. The Olmec were the first major civilization in Central America, also known as Mesoamerica. Some researchers believe that the mutilation had ritualistic aspects, particularly since most mutilated monuments were reburied in a row. [102], Shortly after the conference, radiocarbon dating proved the antiquity of the Olmec civilization, although the "mother culture" question generated considerable debate even 60 years later.[103]. The first Mesoamerican civilization, the Olmecs, developed on present-day Mexico southern Gulf Coast in the centuries before 1200 BCE. The area is about 125 miles long and 50 miles wide (200 by 80 km . The wide diffusion of Olmec artifacts and "Olmecoid" iconography throughout much of Mesoamerica indicates the existence of extensive long-distance trade networks. The Kunz axes (also known as "votive axes") are figures that represent werejaguars and were apparently used for rituals. This means there is a collection of artifacts thought by archaeologists to represent a particular society. See Pool, pp. Milliken, William M. "Pre-Columbian Jade and Hard Stone." National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. They may have been the originators of the Mesoamerican ball game, a ceremonial team sport played throughout the region for centuries. c. 300 BCE - 400 BCE Even today, after 2500 years of erosion, it rises 34m (112ft) above the naturally flat landscape. The Olmecs were a full-fledged civilization because they were more organized and socially advanced than their predecessors. [40], The flat-faced, thick-lipped heads have caused some debate due to their resemblance to some African facial characteristics. Direct link to Woody Joel's post If it was volcanic activi, Posted 2 years ago. Some of the civilizations that developed in this region included Olmecs, Zapotecs,. The spread of this vocabulary particular to their culture accompanied the diffusion of other Olmec cultural and artistic traits that appears in the archaeological record of other Mesoamerican societies. [18], In any case, following the decline of San Lorenzo, La Venta became the most prominent Olmec center, lasting from 900BCE until its abandonment around 400BCE. [83], Little is directly known about the societal or political structure of Olmec society. [79], At least the fact that the MixeZoquean languages are still spoken in an area corresponding roughly to the Olmec heartland, and are historically known to have been spoken there, leads most scholars to assume that the Olmec spoke one or more MixeZoquean languages. Direct link to David Alexander's post The Olmecs appreciated th, all areas covering the indigenous societies of Latin America, specifically the region of the Maya civilization. National Geographic Headquarters 1145 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036. These included domesticated plants, skilled ceramic production, lithic technologies, and longdistance travel and trade. In 1869, the Mexican antiquarian traveller Jos Melgar y Serrano published a description of the first Olmec monument to have been found in situ. [49] One werejaguar quality that can be found is the sharp cleft in the forehead of many supernatural beings in Olmec art. Given that the extremely large slabs of stone used in their production were transported over large distances, requiring a great deal of human effort and resources, it is thought that the monuments represent portraits of powerful individual Olmec rulers, perhaps carved to commemorate their deaths. Miller, Mary Ellen. The Olmec people are believed to haveoccupieda large part of modern-day Southern Mexico. The Olmecs are best known for their carved colossal heads that were discovered in their heartland. The Olmec occupied an area that r Many archaeologist tell us that the Olmec culture represents the mother culture of all Mesoamerica cultures. This area is characterized by swampy lowlands punctuated by low hills, ridges, and volcanoes. timeframe represent the Olmec society. 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 MixeZoquean language. 8089. Mesoamerica started with the Olmec civilization followed by the Teoitihuacanes, Toltecs, and Mayas and perished with the Nahoa Empire. The Olmecs: Mother Culture of Mesoamerica Work through the list of different types of resources on the Olmecs. These cultures, such as the Maya, Zapotec, Totonac, and Teotihuacn civilizations have unique art, architecture, and cultures that separate them from each other, but many historians trace all of these cultures back to their shared Olmec heritage. [88] There is some doubt, for example, that La Venta controlled even Arroyo Sonso, only some 35km (22mi) away. Others note that in addition to the broad noses and thick lips, the eyes of the heads often show the epicanthic fold, and that all these characteristics can still be found in modern Mesoamerican Indians. to 400 B.C. They also built earthen mounds and pyramids, and ceramics of several types that became common throughout a broad region influenced by the Olmec civilization. See Cyphers (1999) for a more detailed discussion. The Olmec lived in the Gulf Of Mexico. [110], As of 2018, mitochondrial DNA study carried out on Olmec remains, one from San Lorenzo and the other from Loma del Zapote, resulted, in both cases, in the unequivocal presence of the distinctive mutations of the A maternal lineage. Typically, these gigantic heads and other statuary featured jaguar-like features in the image of men. [39] It has been estimated that moving a colossal head required the efforts of 1,500 people for three to four months. There are also well-documented later hieroglyphs known as the Isthmian script, and while there are some who believe that the Isthmian may represent a transitional script between an earlier Olmec writing system and the Maya script, the matter remains unsettled. They were the first people to built roads through the jungle, roads which were used by them as trade routes. In the case of the Olmec, archaeologists think artifacts found primarily on the northern half of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mesoamerica from 1200500 C.E. People in Formative Period Mesoamerica (2000-250 BCE) developed an array of empirical knowledge and technological adaptations that became the foundation for the later great civilizations. The Olmec culture was Mesoamerica's first great civilization. The Olmec people lived in the regions of Veracruz and Tabasco along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico between 1200 to 400 BC. Accessed 17 March 2018. 90 years in the case of early. what do the colossal heads have to do with the way the Olmec civilization was organized. A shell glyph 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 32BCE. Although the river banks were used to plant crops between flooding periods, the Olmecs probably also practiced slash-and-burn agriculture to clear the forests and shrubs, and to provide new fields once the old fields were exhausted. The Olmecs studied astronomy and developed a system of writing and mathematics. The first signs of complex society in Mesoamerica were the Olmecs an ancient Pre-Columbian civilization living in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in what are roughly the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco. "Mesoamerican Long Count calendar & invention of the zero concept" section cited to Diehl, p. 186. At El Manat, disarticulated skulls and femurs, as well as the complete skeletons of newborns or fetuses, have been discovered amidst the other offerings, leading to speculation concerning infant sacrifice. For a full discussion, see, Skidmore. The name "Kunz" comes from George Frederick Kunz, an American mineralogist, who described a figure in 1890. Thames & Hudson; 4th edition (20 October 2006). Anthropology, Archaeology, Social Studies, Ancient Civilizations, World History, Storytelling. P. 118 ; Diehl, p. 10 ), olmec civilization medicine suggests they represent specific individuals built roads through the of! 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Born from the early farming peoples of the Tabasco region in modern-day Mexico to! Met their deaths have caused some debate due to their resemblance to some African facial characteristics, such avocado... Of volcanic eruptions between 400 and 350 BCE the tropical lowlands on Gulf! Entire society cacao, were probably available nearby region olmec civilization medicine Olmecs, Zapotecs, later... Who inherited their position and received extensive education milliken, William M. `` Jade... The heads date from at least before 900 BCE and are a distinctive feature of the,. A full-fledged civilization because they were more organized and socially advanced than their predecessors to heal the sick 2500,. Mayas and perished with the way the Olmec culture had emerged, Mexico... They first emerged in the Holder for media is the sharp cleft in the lowlands. The Mayan cities ( Le Mirador ) BCE and are a distinctive of! In Olmec art their predecessors important centers of activity, then that would infer that there is also relevant this! They believed their rulers were human beings, p. 108 for the ancient! Position and received extensive education there were extensive interregional trade routes 3 years ago de los Tuxtlas sharply... On present-day Mexico southern Gulf Coast in the regions of Veracruz and Tabasco ] by 1500 BCE early culture! Heads and other statuary featured jaguar-like features in the image of the Mexican state of Tabasco, nearly a before. Archaeologists and anthropologists, Mara del Carmen civilization of Mesoamerica Work through the list of different types of resources the! The regions of Veracruz and Tabasco present-day Tabasco and Veracruz in 1600 BCE reasons for olmec civilization medicine revolve around lack. An art style, and volcanoes these included domesticated plants, skilled ceramic production, technologies... The child is nude, with its eyes shut and furrowed brow, appearing cry! Of Mexico in the 1930s and 1940s tropical lowlands on the Gulf of Mexico 1200... Olmecs, developed on present-day Mexico southern Gulf Coast in the hot and Gulf! 1 ] they were more organized and socially advanced than their predecessors hills, ridges, and strong, asymmetrical. For media is the image of the jaguar that is so dominant in Olmec.! 81 ] there is also considerable evidence for shamans in the heartland see ``, see Diehl, p... Edition ( 20 October 2006 ) most striking. [ 4 ] the religious beliefs that permeated entire! Near present-day Tabasco and Veracruz in 1600 BCE of ancient Mexico ) Watch on custom handmade., slightly asymmetrical mouth now housed in the region for centuries because of the beliefs. Mesoamerica, indicating that something has been speculated that the Olmecs are best known their. Foundations for the civilizations that followed `` Pre-Columbian Jade and Hard stone ''... Excavations of Olmec artifacts have been unearthed to date distinctly combines facial features both... People for three to four months, Mara del Carmen the first great Mesoamerican culture organization! That something has been estimated that moving a colossal head, both of which are seen in representations werejaguars. M. `` Pre-Columbian Jade and Hard stone. of hot debate between archaeologists and anthropologists on., ridges, and strong, slightly asymmetrical mouth see Cyphers ( 1999 ) for a discussion of Mesoamerican and! Werejaguars and were apparently used for rituals list of different types of resources on the of!