11/10/2022 0 Comments Olmec civilizationThe Olmecs carved stone, jade, and the volcanic rock basalt (used for the great stone heads). Second, they had a wide influence in their day, which gives us reason to believe that they may be responsible for spreading some of these ideas. First, they used and perhaps developed many things culturally and religiously that were later used by the Mayans and Aztecs and many other cultures. There are a couple of reasons why the Olmecs are so important. The city and in fact the ancient Olmec civilization is often remembered because of the gigantic stone heads that have been found here. This was probably a ritual and political place, housing thousands and using an elaborate water and drainage system. The major Olmec urban area in early times was San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, at the time the largest city in Mesoamerica. The generally accepted belief is that the culture arose from people in the area, although some have suggested that the Olmecs may have originally come from Africa. In fact, at first Olmec artifacts were thought to be Mayan, and the Mayans were thought to be the first great culture in the area. There are very few written records to tell us about the culture. We know far less about the Olmecs than we do about, for example, the Aztecs and Mayans. The Olmec culture developed in the centuries before 1200BC (BCE), and declined around 400BC. The Olmec civilization is believed to have been centred around the southern Gulf Coast of Mexico area (today the states of Veracruz and Tabasco) - further south east than the heart of the Aztec empire. The basics A great stone head from the Olmec civilization at the Smithsonian Institution (See this possible timeline including the Olmec and Aztec civilizations) This civilization came and went long before the Aztec empire was even thought of, and yet they left their mark on the peoples of Mexico and beyond, and developed a complex culture which is still echoed today, probably in ways we don't yet even realize. The ancient Olmec civilization is now considered to be one of the earliest great civilizations in Mesoamerica.
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