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The OLMEC colossal heads are the most famous artifacts left behind by the OLMEC civilization. The OLMEC people are believed to have occupied a large part of modern-day Southern Mexico. Photograph by DEA / M. SEEMULLER
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Dates: c. 2,500 - 400 BCE
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Aug 26, 2013 . The OLMEC civilization is considered by historians to be “pristine:” this means that it developed on its own, without the benefit of immigration or cultural exchange with some other established society.
Occupation: Professor of History And Literature
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The OLMEC were the first major civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands on the Gulf of Mexico in the present-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. The name OLMEC is a Nahuatl—the Aztec language—word; it means the rubber people.
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Sep 12, 2008 . The OLMEC civilization is the name given to a sophisticated central American culture, with its heyday between 1200 and 400 BCE. The OLMEC heartland lies in the Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco, at the narrow part of Mexico west of the Yucatan peninsula and east of Oaxaca.
Occupation: Archaeology Expert
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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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Mar 04, 2019 . The OLMEC civilization of Mexico has been studied by a number of people, including West African archeologists from Nigeria, Mali, Ghana and the Cape Verde Region of …
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OLMECa Silver OLMECa Blanco brings the unexpected to your party with a fresh herbal and green pepper scent with soft citrus notes at the end. Directly from Los Altos highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, it carries a naturally sweet freshness to make any cool moment even cooler. Learn more Prev Next Welcome to OLMECa Shot Ring
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The oldest known OLMEC site is a ceremonial complex at San Lorenzo in Mexico’s Tabasco state, which enjoyed a 300-year heyday from about 1400 to 1100 BC, making it a few centuries older than the ...
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The OLMEC civilization was located in southeastern Mexico along the coast near the Gulf of Mexico. The territory it comprised is located in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. At first glance the region does not appear to be an ideal candidate for a thriving civilization. The area was covered with swamps and a thick jungle canopy with hot and humid te…
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Apr 29, 2018 . The OLMEC civilization prospered from around 1400 BC to 400 BC in the formative period of Mesoamerica. It is regarded as the first major Mesoamerican civilization and it laid many of the foundations for all subsequent Mesoamerican cultures such as the Maya and the Aztec.
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Apr 30, 2017 . God IV is the OLMEC god of rain and was an agricultural fertility deity. It was depicted as a were-jaguar. Usually it was shown wearing a headband, pectoral badges, and ear ornaments. God IV has characteristics that suggest it was the predecessor of the Aztec Tlaloc and the Maya Chac.
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Jun 09, 2015 . The OLMEC civilization developed in the period of the Lower and Middle Preclassic, spanning from 1500 BC to 100 A.D. The name OLMEC is translated to “people of the rubber country” and was awarded to them in 1929. It refers to the culture developed in southern Veracruz and northern Tabasco, in the territory of modern-day Mexico.
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One of the huge OLMEC sculptures found at La Venta - This head is approximately 6 feet tall and 5 feet across. The stone it was cut from was quarried more than 50 miles from where it was discovered, prompting speculation about how it was transported. ART The OLMECs made fine pottery and carved jade They had early achievements in art.
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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.
OCLC 52523439. Coe, Michael D. (1968). America's First Civilization: Discovering the OLMEC. New York: The Smithsonian Library. Coe, Michael D.; Rex Koontz (2002). Mexico: from the OLMECs to the Aztecs (5th edition, revised and enlarged ed.). London and New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-28346-X. OCLC 50131575. Covarrubias, Miguel (1977) [1946].
The OLMEC civilization developed in the period of the Lower and Middle Preclassic, spanning from 1500 BC to 100 A.D. The name OLMEC is translated to “people of the rubber country” and was awarded to them in 1929. It refers to the culture developed in southern Veracruz and northern Tabasco, in the territory of modern-day Mexico.
Monumental stone representations of human heads sculpted by the OLMEC, known as the OLMEC colossal heads, are the most famous legacy of their civilization. They show the head and face of a helmeted man with distinctly indigenous features.
OLMECs are considered to be a mother culture because they are the ancestors of numerous other groups and civilizations that arose later in the Americas.
The OLMEC culture thrived along Mexico’s Gulf coast from roughly 1200 to 400 B.C. Best known today for their carved colossal heads, the OLMECs were an important early Mesoamerican civilization which had much influence on later cultures such as the Aztecs and the Maya. What do we know about these mysterious ancient people?
OLMEC colossal heads. The heads date from at least 900 BC and are a distinctive feature of the OLMEC civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. All portray mature individuals with fleshy cheeks, flat noses, and slightly crossed eyes; their physical characteristics correspond to a type that is still common among the inhabitants of Tabasco and Veracruz.