Olmec Research Paper

The Olmec religion was very influential on areas like the Mesoamerican, both in the mythological world and social development. For a lot of reasons, the Olmec culture is the mother of all Mesoamerican cultures. There is no direct proof of the Olmec religion, unlike the Aztecs or the Mayans. Archeologists used techniques to find out how the Olmec religion worked by comparing it with pre-Columbian cultures that were documented better. When the Archaeologist 's were using their techniques, they assumed the religion of the Olmecs was consistent and unbroken to the present Mesoamerican religions. Researchers were able to find a number of gods that had the features of many animals. The shamans, priests and rulers did all of the activities that were associated with the Olmec religion. Rulers were considered the relatives of supernatural beings and of the Olmec gods. Archaeologist 's also say that there is evidence of the existence of shamans in their culture. Specific details in the Olmec religion were not always found by the researchers. At first, historians thought that the Olmec religion was based around a Jaguar god. Joralemon Peter David

Due to isolation, communication and trade was difficult for the Mesoamerican cultures. However, they still managed to succeed in math, agriculture, engineering, and calendrical advances, and although they didn't have the influential ideas in advancement from Europe and Asia cultures, expansion of ideas still existed within the Mesoamerican cultures itself. The Mesoamerican culture can be explained as appeared, spread, and then decayed along the years of development. Likeliness, to Europe and Asia, Mesoamerica was developing naturally from their own perspective, resulting in a huge similarity between the countries. For example, the Olmec's are famous upon archeologist for their art work specifically with the human face. Or the famous corn that

During 750 AD in Central Mexico, The Toltec Empire emerged continuing the Mesoamerican heritage. Their culture was inspired by the empire before them, the Olmec’s. They were believed to be the people who migrated after the collapse of Teotihuacan. The significance of their existence is because it serves as the foundation of the Mesoamerican Civilization’s culture.

The Olmecs were farmers, traders, artists… innovators. The Olmec culture first emerged in the Isthmus region of Tehuantepec. The site of San Lorenzo, which sits on the Coatzacoalcos River, sheds the most light on this mysterious culture. During this time period, The Initail Formative, food surplus sparked an increase in population and career specialization. With the increase of specialization and sedentism came the environment for complex culture.

The Olmec’s lived along muddy riverbanks and the Gulf of Mexico around 1500 B.C. Rigorous agricultural practices characterized the Olmec civilization, enabling them to provide food and resources for their families and generate income by selling their food to others around them. They also used the land to their advantage, using the mud to create elaborate earthen pyramids. Along with the cultivation of land, trade contributed to the success of the Olmec’s. They had many widespread trade routes extending into the surrounding areas. Their trade routes further helped to expand agriculture and grow the economy within this society due to the selling of agricultural products along these routes. To grow spiritually, the Olmec’s created religious rituals and a system of hieroglyphics that allowed the peoples to communicate effectively while also uniting the Olmec people as a whole. The Olmec’s’ use of their surrounding geography, combined with the economic growth brought about from extended trade routes and the societal unity brought about from the implementation of religious rituals allowed the Olmec’s to thrive during their time.

                The Olmec culture is found through Mexico City. The spread of their religion influenced a lot of what their art that was found. Symbolic traditions, as well as artistic and architectural complexes. Were found Chiapas were the civilizations was formed around 1500 BCE. During this period the first true Mesoamerican writing and language were developed right after the Mayan civilization was formed the Olmec had a huge influence in them. Writing they had a lot of adventures epic poems about the gods that were from religion that were the explanation of the nature they saw, the stars they saw. All the natural situation that happened they wrote it down creating poem influenced by their religion there's different kinds of gods.

Sports, especially ones that involve a ball, are modern America’s favorite pastimes. Well, this was also true for the Mesoamerican people of the ninth century. While the event does not have a specific name, it is referred to as the Mesoamerican ballgame. Like basketball, this game was played on a long, rectangular court (Stokstad 405). The ball itself is said to be pretty heavy and rubber. Unlike basketball, the players wore protective gear because the actual sport of the game was to use everything but your hands to hit the ball. The object was to make it into the protruding stone goal, in which the ball would enter horizontally and not longitudinally. Some scholars suggest that perhaps the Mesoamerican ballgame was used in times of warfare,

The Mesoamerican world was heavily influenced by the Olmec religion. Religion was a very strong and important in the Olmec’s culture. There were many Gods like the Maize God also known as the

The ones who walk away from Omelas believe in equality and fairness among their city. They believe that it is not fair for the citizens to act like they are living a perfect life when they know there is someone that has been suffering, trapped in a room with no human contact for what seems like a countless number of years. When they decide to walk away from Omelas, it is not because they are acting cowardly or trying to avoid helping the young child. These people make this decision to help themselves. Those outcasts who walk away not knowing where they are going are humans that cannot accept the fact that they have been so happy while another person in their same city is miserable.

Olmec had influenced people by trending: working with stones, observation of the stars and the worship of certain gods, those gods were adopted by them Mayas who controlled a pretty large area which influences most of Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, also plots of Honduras and El Salvador.

The webpage “The Olmecs: (The ‘Rubber People’)” by Alex Whitaker in the subsection “The Olmec’s and Writing” states that the Olmecs were the first Mesoamerican people to create a complex writing system, Whitaker’s evidence is that there have been multiple findings of ‘glyphs’ from ‘authenticated Olmec sites,’ but he does not state where these Olmec sites are located. He also claims that the text emerged from the Chinese Shang dynasty and from the African Manding-she tribe, but this is yet to be proven. Whitaker comes up these statements without sufficient evidence to back up his claims. In contrast, the article “A Decipherment of Epi-Olmec Hieroglyphic Writing” by Justeson and Kaufman declare that Olmec writing developed from the Mixe-Zoquean

The main archeological site within the film is San Lorenzo which is in the modern-day state of Veracruz. The main Olmec culture that seems to be the focus within the film seems to be about the production of the large Olmec head statues. The first interesting fact I received from the film was that the Olmec were the first to establish a civilization within Mesoamerica. The second interesting fact from the film was that archeologist considered the Olmec that mother culture of Central America. The third thing I thought was interesting was the fact that Olmec artifacts were found hundreds to thousands of miles away from San Lorenzo. They were able to trace some of these artifacts because of the tar that these artifacts were made from. The way that

In the article that I read, A Chronological Link Between Maya and Olmec Art, the author seemed to be trying to convey that the Olmec had been around before long before the maya but also existed during the Maya times. Supposedly the Olmec had several different art phases, one of which coexisted with the Maya. The author noted that there is relatively little known about the Olmec peoples and that there may be some connection to how long this particular precontact mexican group may have existed. They claim that due to small attributes found on Maya stelae, that the Olmec had some cultural influence over the Maya. The Maya were using Olmec goods, like belt adornments, that had something called a “baby face” carved on it. The author claims that

The ancient Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan is located in the Mexican highlands about 30 miles to the north east of the modern day Mexico City. At its historical highest point between 400 and 600 A.D it had up to 200, 000 inhabitants as a religious center in the Mexican central highlands (Cartwright, 2015). The settlement began about 200 B.C around the same time when the basic layout of the city was completed. The founding inhabitants are thought to be the Totonac people. Further available anthropological evidence shows that some of the inhabitants such as Mixtec, Maya and Zapotec peoples were lured to settle in Teotihuacan following the civilization (Department of Arts of Africa).

Mesoamerica is the area in which the ancient Maya had lived, and is the area where modern Mayans are still reside. According to Coe, the Mayan geographic can range from Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Yucatan Peninsula, and the Mexican States of Chiapas and Tabasco (1966:17). Yet these areas are not limited to just Mayan. Many structural architecture remains today has proven the complexity of the Mayan culture in Mesoamerica.