what did the olmecs create

A History of Olmec Art and Sculpture

• The Olmec Civilization. The Olmec were the first great Mesoamerican civilization. ...
• Olmec Art. The Olmec were gifted artists who produced stone carvings, woodcarvings and cave paintings. ...
• The Olmec Colossal Heads. ...
• Olmec Thrones. ...
• Statues and Stelae. ...
• Celts, Figurines and Masks. ...
• Olmec Cave Painting. ...
• Importance of Olmec Art. ...

Full Answer

What did the Olmecs make from hematite?

The figurine has her hands clasped to her chest, below a piece of polished hematite, which the Olmec used for mirrors. Researchers believe the Olmec regarded mirrors as an entryway from the underworld to the living, and they were used in ritual and burial events. Only powerful, highly respected people in Olmec society are thought to have had them.

What did the Olmec accomplish in art and learning?

What is known is that the Olmec produced some of the greatest Mesoamerican artworks including colossal sculpture in volcanic stone and intricate works in jade; they built the earliest known Mesoamerican pyramid; and laid the foundations for all subsequent Mesoamerican cultures such as the Maya and the Aztec.

What jobs did the Olmecs have?

The Olmec civilization, well we don’t really know a whole lot about it but we do know most if not all of the jobs that they had there. The jobs they had were priests, ball players, rulers, farmers, merchants, engineers, artists, sculptures, laborers, and textile workers.

How did the Olmec use their natural resources?

Characteristics of the Olmec trading network include:

• baby-faced figurines (essentially, portable versions of the Olmec stone heads);
• distinctive white-rimmed blackware pottery and Calzadas Carved wares;
• abstract iconography, especially that of the Olmec dragon; and
• El Chayal obsidian, a translucent to transparent banded black volcanic stone.

What did the Olmecs invent?

The Olmecs were apparently the first Mesoamerican people to fathom the concept of zero, develop a calendar, and create a hieroglyphic writing system. Also, they are credited for the discovery of the first conduit drainage system known in the Americas.

What type of art did the Olmecs create?

The Olmec were gifted artists who produced stone carvings, woodcarvings and cave paintings. They made carvings of all sizes, from tiny celts and figurines to massive stone heads. The stonework is made of many different types of stone, including basalt and jadeite.

What are the Olmecs mainly known for?

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.

What did the Olmecs and later the Mayans build?

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 structures did the 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.

When was Olmec art created?

Introduction. The Olmec art style was the major prestige style of Ancient Mesoamerica between c. 1,500 BCE and 400 BCE, or much of the Mesoamerican Formative (Preclassic) period (or c.

Did the Olmecs create rubber?

The Aztec, Olmec, and Maya of Mesoamerica are known to have made rubber using natural latex—a milky, sap-like fluid found in some plants.

What technology did the Olmecs have?

In spite of only having Stone Age technology, the Olmecs were able to make several sorts of tools which made their life easier. They used whatever was at hand, such as clay, stone, bone, wood or deer antlers. They were skilled at making ​pottery: vessels and plates used for storing and cooking food.

What did the Olmecs influence?

Influence of the Olmecs We're uncertain, but it's believed that they may have been early adopters of the complex religious system that the Mayans and the Aztecs would use. Temple mounds, jaguars, many gods, and perhaps even human sacrifice were used by the Olmec society.

What did the Mayans invent?

Two thousand years ago, the ancient Maya developed one of the most advanced civilizations in the Americas. They developed a written language of hieroglyphs and invented the mathematical concept of zero. With their expertise in astronomy and mathematics, the Maya developed a complex and accurate calendar system.

What two large centers did the Olmec construct?

What two large centers did the Olmec construct? The Olmec built several important centers, including: San Lorenzo and La Venta.

What is the Olmec civilization known for?

The Olmec civilization is known for being the first great Mesoamerican culture. It is famous for its monumental sacred complexes, massive stone hea...

What are five facts about the Olmec civilization?

Five facts about the Olmec civilization are: They sculpted gigantic stone heads, they developed the ball game that many later Mesoamerican cultures...

What helped the Olmec become the first great Mesoamerican civilization?

Several factors helped the Olmecs become the first great American culture. These include the fertile and well-watered coastal areas of the Gulf of...

Who came first the Maya or Olmecs?

The Olmecs were the first great Mesoamerican culture and, thriving from c. 1200 BCE to c. 400 BCE, they pre-date the Maya.

What did the Olmecs do?

Among other "firsts", the Olmec appeared to practice ritual bloodletting and played the Mesoamerican ballgame, hallmarks of nearly all subsequent Mesoamerican societies. The aspect of the Olmecs most familiar now is their artwork, particularly the aptly named " colossal heads ".

When did the Olmecs start?

The Olmecs flourished during Mesoamerica 's formative period, dating roughly from as early as 1500 BCE to about 400 BCE. Pre-Olmec cultures had flourished since about 2500 BCE, but by 1600–1500 BCE, early Olmec culture had emerged, centered on the San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán site near the coast in southeast Veracruz.

What are Olmec artists known for?

Olmec artists are known for both monumental and miniature portrayals of what are assumed to be persons of authority-from six-ton heads sculptures to figurines. The Olmecs ( / ˈɒlmɛks, ˈoʊl -/) were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization.

Why are Olmecs considered to be the first Mesoamerican civilization?

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. Although several of these speculations, particularly the theory that the Olmecs were of African origin popularized by Ivan Van Sertima's book They Came Before Columbus, have become well known within popular culture. They are not considered credible by the vast majority of Mesoamerican researchers and scientists, who discard it as pop-culture pseudo-science.

What caused the extinction of the Olmec culture?

Between 400 and 350 BCE, the population in the eastern half of the Olmec heartland dropped precipitously, and the area was sparsely inhabited until the 19th century. 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. These changes may have been triggered by tectonic upheavals or subsidence, or the siltation of rivers due to agricultural practices.

What are the helmeted heads of the Olmec civilization?

The most recognized aspect of the Olmec civilization are the enormous helmeted heads. As no known pre-Columbian text explains them, these impressive monuments have been the subject of much speculation. Once theorized to be ballplayers, it is now generally accepted that these heads are portraits of rulers, perhaps dressed as ballplayers. Infused with individuality, no two heads are alike and the helmet-like headdresses are adorned with distinctive elements, suggesting personal or group symbols. Some have also speculated that Mesoamerican people believed that the soul, along with all of one's experiences and emotions, was contained inside the head.

What is the Olmec culture?

The Olmec culture was first defined as an art style , and this continues to be the hallmark of the culture. Wrought in a large number of media – jade, clay, basalt, and greenstone among others – much Olmec art, such as The Wrestler, is naturalistic. Other art expresses fantastic anthropomorphic creatures, often highly stylized, using an iconography reflective of a religious meaning. Common motifs include downturned mouths and a cleft head, both of which are seen in representations of werejaguars. In addition to making human and human-like subjects, Olmec artisans were adept at animal portrayals.

Where are the Olmecs found?

The Olmecs influenced the civilizations they came into contact with across Mesoamerica, particularly in sculpture in ceramic and jade and objects featuring Olmec imagery have been found at Teopantecuanitlan, 650 km distant from the Olmec heartland.

How did the Olmecs influence Mesoamerica?

The Olmecs influenced the civilizations they came into contact with across Mesoamerica, particularly in sculpture in ceramic and jade and objects featuring Olmec imagery have been found at Teopantecuanitlan, 650 km distant from the Olmec heartland. In addition, many deities featured in Olmec art and religion such as the sky-dragon (a sort of caiman creature with flaming eyebrows) and the feathered-snake god, would reappear in similar form in later religions. The snake-god especially, would be transformed into the major gods Kukulcan for the Maya and Quetzalcoatl for the Aztecs. This artistic and religious influence, along with the features of precisely aligned ceremonial precincts, monumental pyramids, sacrificial rituals and ball-courts, meant that all subsequent Mesoamerican cultures would owe a great deal to their mysterious forerunners, the Olmecs.

What are the most striking legacy of the Olmec civilization?

The most striking legacy of the Olmec civilization must be the colossal stone heads they produced. These were carved in basalt and all display unique facial features so that they may be considered portraits of actual rulers. The heads can be nearly 3 m high and 8 tons in weight and the stone from which they were worked was, in some cases, transported 80 km or more, presumably using huge balsa river rafts. 17 have been discovered, 10 of which are from San Lorenzo. The ruler often wears a protective helmet (from war or the ballgame) and sometimes show the subject with jaguar paws hanging over the forehead, perhaps representing a jaguar pelt worn as a symbol of political and religious power. The fact that these giant sculptures depict only the head may be explained by the belief in Mesoamerican culture that it was the head alone which bore the soul.

What materials did the Olmecs use to make their sculptures?

Advertisement. Intriguingly, the Olmecs often buried their sculptures, even larger pieces, perhaps in a ritual act of memory. Jade and ceramic were other popular materials for sculpture and also wood, some examples of which were remarkably well preserved in the bogs of El Manati.

What animals did the Olmecs mix?

The Olmecs also liked to mix animals to create weird & wonderful creatures such as the were-jaguar, a cross between a human & a jaguar. The names of the gods of the Olmec are not known other than that they often represented phenomena such as rain, the earth and especially maize.

What were the features of the Olmec civilization?

Monumental sacred complexes, massive stone sculptures, ball games, the drinking of chocolate, and animal gods were all features of Olmec culture passed on to those peoples who followed this first great Mesoamerican civilization. With their heartlands in the Gulf of Mexico (now the states of Veracruz and Tabasco), ...

What were the goods that San Lorenzo traded?

Typical Olmec trade goods included obsidian, jade, serpentine, mica, rubber, pottery, feathers and polished mirrors of ilmenite and magnetite. Remove Ads.

What are the Olmec artifacts?

Other Olmec artifacts include so-called baby-faced figures and figurines. These display a rounded facial form, thick features, heavy-lidded eyes, and down-turned mouths, and they are sometimes referred to as were-jaguars.

Where did the Olmec mask come from?

That term was chosen because the Olmecs extracted latex from Panama rubber trees ( Castilla elastica) growing in the region and mixed it with the juice of a local vine ( Ipomoea alba, moonflower) to create rubber. Jadeite mask, Olmec culture, Mexico, 10th–6th century bce; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Where are the Olmec sites?

The chief Olmec sites are San Lorenzo, La Venta, Laguna de los Cerros, and Tres Zapotes in what is now southern Mexico. Much of what is known about the Olmecs was inferred from archaeological excavations ...

How tall are the Olmecs?

The Olmecs are especially identified with 17 huge stone heads—ranging in height from 1.47 to 3.4 metres (4.82 to 11.15 feet)—with flat faces and full lips, ...

Where was the Olmec writing system discovered?

In the late 20th century a stone slab engraved with symbols that appear to have been the Olmec writing system (sometimes called epi-Olmec, or Isthmian) was discovered in the village of Cascajal, near San Lorenzo. The Cascajal stone dates to approximately 900 bce and may be the oldest example of writing from the Americas.

What was the first civilization in Mesoamerica?

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.

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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. ...

What did the Olmec do?

The Olmec had religion and a mythology, and the people would gather near the ceremonial centers to watch their priests and rulers perform ceremonies. There was a priest class and a ruling class who lived privileged lives in the higher parts of the cities.

What are the Olmecs known for?

They are best known for their colossal heads. These massive stone heads, thought to represent rulers, stand several feet high and weigh many tons. The Olmecs also made massive stone thrones: squarish blocks, carved on the sides, which were evidently used for rulers to sit or stand upon.

What is the name of the first feathered serpent in Mesoamerican art?

La Venta Monument 19 features the first image of a feathered serpent in Mesoamerican art. The El Azuzul twins seem to prove a link between the ancient Olmec and the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Maya. The Olmecs also made countless smaller pieces, including celts, figurines, and masks.

Why did the Olmec civilization decline?

The great Olmec cities were swallowed up by the jungles, not to be seen again for thousands of years. Why the Olmec declined is a bit of a mystery. It may have been climate change as the Olmec were dependent on a few basic crops and climate change could have affected their harvests. Human actions, such as warfare, overfarming or deforestation may have played a role in their decline as well. After the fall of La Venta, the center of what is known as epi-Olmec civilization became Tres Zapotes, a city which prospered for a while after La Venta. The epi-Olmec people of Tres Zapotes were also talented artists who developed concepts such as writing systems and a calendar.

What did the Olmec people do?

Most of the common Olmec citizens labored in the fields producing crops or spent their days fishing in the rivers. Sometimes, massive amounts of manpower would be required to move immense boulders many miles to the workshops where sculptors would turn them into great stone thrones or colossal heads.

What are the pristine cultures of the Olmec civilization?

Generally, only six pristine cultures are thought to exist: those of ancient India, Egypt, China, Sumeria, and the Chavin Culture of Peru in addition to the Olmec. That’s not to say that the Olmec appeared out of thin air. As early as 1500 B.C. pre-Olmec relics were being created at San Lorenzo, where the Ojochí, Bajío, and Chichárras cultures would eventually develop into the Olmec.

What is the importance of the Olmec civilization?

The Olmec civilization is very important to researchers. As the "parent" civilization of much of Mesoamerica, they had influence out of proportion with their military might or architectural works. Olmec culture and religion survived them and became the foundation of other societies such as the Aztecs and Maya .

What is the Olmec culture?

The Olmec culture was defined and unified by a specific art style. Crafted in a variety of materials—jade, clay, basalt, and greenstone, which is an archaeologist's term for carved, green-colored minerals—much Olmec art is naturalistic.

What does Olmec mean?

The name Olmec is a Nahuatl—the Aztec language—word; it means the rubber people. The Olmec might have been the first people to figure out how to convert latex of the rubber tree into something that could be shaped, cured, and hardened.

How were the heads of the Olmec colossal stone arranged?

The heads were arranged in either lines or groups at major Olmec centers , but the method and logistics used to transport the stone to the sites remain uncertain. Photograph of an Olmec colossal head. There is a headdress carved onto the head and its eyes, nose and lips are prominent while its ears are not visible.

What did the yellow dots on the map of the Olmec period mean?

A map of the Olmec heartland, the Tuxtla Mountains, and part of the Gulf of Mexico. The yellow dots represent Olmec settlements , and the red dots represent archaeological finds.

What is the name of the rock that the Olmec carved out of?

The Olmec are known for the immense stone heads they carved from a volcanic rock called basalt.

How long did the Olmec civilization last?

The Olmec society lasted from about 1600 BCE to around 350 BCE, when environmental factors made their villages unlivable. The Olmec are probably best known for the statues they carved: 20 ton stone heads, quarried and carved to commemorate their rulers.

How many different androgynous deities are there in the Olmec?

There were eight different androgynous —possessing male and female characteristics—Olmec deities, each with its own distinct characteristics. For example, the Bird Monster was depicted as a harpy eagle associated with rulership. The Olmec Dragon was shown with flame eyebrows, a bulbous nose, and bifurcated tongue.

What did the Olmecs understand?

The Olmecs had a basic understanding of gravity and they also understood a basic mechanism of magnetism. Combined together they were able to create one of the first compasses that existed in the Americas.

What were the Olmec civilizations?

Olmec Inventions and Accomplishments. Living around the Gulf of Mexico for nearly 1,000 years, the Olmec civilization was a major influence on the region up until 300 BC. They are often considered the first ordered civilization in the Americas and are thought to have even influenced the Mayans and the Aztecs. ...

Why is Ulama considered a religious experience?

Because of the element of human sacrifice, it is believed that Ulama was also a highly religious experience too. 4. A Writing System. The Olmecs are often credited with the first writing system in the Americas, although writing itself pre-dates this civilization by several thousand years in other parts of the world.

How many people lived in one city in the Olmec civilization?

One city is estimated to have been the home to 13,000 people at minimum. Their inventions are similar to what we’d see in other first civilizations in a region, yet are wholly unique as well. 1. Water Drainage. Near the town of San Lorenzo sits the remains of one of the largest of all Olmec cities.

Where did the ball game originate?

It’s a game where the object is to knock a ball through a hole and you can only use your hip. Started by the Olmecs and still played today in some regions of Mexico, the first balls that were used were made from the sap of a rubber tree that was molded around a human skull.

What is the origin of the long count calendar?

Long count calendars that came from the Americas were thought to have been a Mayan invention, but a 1939 discovery proved that the Olmecs had their own calendar system as well. The foundation of their calendar system was a place holder where a zero was required and this number was represented by a specific shell. This is one of the first uses of a zero in all of human history that is known and it is also likely the first example of an American civilization recognizing that time is linear.

Summary

Etymology

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. 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 r…

Etymology

Overview

Artifacts

Beyond the heartland

Notable innovations

Ethnicity and language