The Olmec are probably best known for the statues they carved: 20 ton stone heads , quarried and carved to commemorate their rulers. The name Olmec is an Aztec word meaning the rubber people; the Olmec made and traded rubber throughout Mesoamerica.
How were the Olmec heads carved?
The heads were each carved from a single basalt boulder which in some cases were transported 100 km or more to their final destination , presumably using huge balsa river rafts wherever possible and log rollers on land. The principal source of this heavy stone was Cerro Cintepec in the Tuxtla Mountains.
What did the Olmec mostly carve in?
All seventeen of the confirmed heads in the Olmec heartland were sculpted from basalt mined in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas mountains of Veracruz. Most were formed from coarse grained dark grey basalt known as Cerro Cintepec basalt after a volcano in the range.
What is Olmec writing?
Olmec hieroglyphs (alternatively Olmec glyphs, Olmec writing, or Olmec script) designate a possible system of writing or proto-writing developed within the Olmec culture . ... Direct evidence includes the appearance of individual (potential) glyphs as well as the singleton Cascajal Block that bears a potential text.
What did Olmecs build?
The Olmec created massive monuments, including colossal stone heads, thrones, stela (upright slabs), and statues . They may have been the originators of the Mesoamerican ball game, a ceremonial team sport played throughout the region for centuries.
Are the Olmecs from Africa?
Andrzej Wiercinski claims that some of the Olmecs were of African origin . He supports this claim with cranial evidence from two Mesoamerican sites: Tlatilco and Cerro de las Mesas. Tlatilco is a site in the Valley of Mexico. Although outside the Olmec heartland, Olmec influences appear in the architectural record.
Why did Olmecs carve stone heads?
The Olmec are probably best known for the statues they carved: 20 ton stone heads, quarried and carved to commemorate their rulers . The name Olmec is an Aztec word meaning the rubber people; the Olmec made and traded rubber throughout Mesoamerica.
Which God was the most important to the Olmecs?
The Maize God
Because maize was such an important staple of life of the Olmec, it's not surprising that they dedicated a god to its production. The Maize God appears as a human-ish figure with a stalk of corn growing out of his head.
Are Aztecs Olmecs?
Olmec, the first elaborate pre-Columbian civilization of Mesoamerica (c. 1200–400 bce) and one that is thought to have set many of the fundamental patterns evinced by later American Indian cultures of Mexico and Central America, notably the Maya and the Aztec.
What religion were Olmecs?
Like many early Mesoamerican cultures, the Olmec believed in three tiers of existence: the physical realm they inhabited, an underworld and a sky realm, home of most of the gods . Their world was bound together by the four cardinal points and natural boundaries such as rivers, the ocean and mountains.
What language did Olmecs speak?
The Olmecs spoke an aspect of the Manding (Malinke-Bambara) language spoken in West Africa. Both the Olmec and epi-Olmec had hieroglyphic writing systems.
Is Mayan deciphered?
The hieroglyphic writing of the Maya has not been completely deciphered , however, and can still only be interpreted, rather than read. To date nearly 85 percent of known Maya hieroglyphics have been decoded. The Maya considered writing to be a sacred gift from the gods.
What gods did the Olmec worship?
- 2.1 Olmec Dragon (God I)
- 2.2 Maize deity (God II)
- 2.3 Rain Spirit and Were-jaguar (God III)
- 2.4 Banded-eye God (God IV)
- 2.5 Feathered Serpent (God V)
- 2.6 Fish or Shark Monster (God VI)
Who came first Olmec or Maya?
Scientists are typically split between two theories on the subject: Either the Maya developed directly from an older “mother culture” known as the Olmec, or they sprang into existence independently.
Did the Olmec build pyramids?
Civilizations like the Olmec, Maya, Aztec and Inca all built pyramids to house their deities, as well as to bury their kings. In many of their great city-states, temple-pyramids formed the center of public life and were the site of holy rituals, including human sacrifice.
What was the original name of the Aztecs?
Early Aztec History
The Aztecs were also known as the Tenochca (from which the name for their capital city, Tenochtitlan, was derived) or the Mexica (the origin of the name of the city that would replace Tenochtitlan, as well as the name for the entire country).
