Olmec Society
The Olmec people were very advanced for their time. We know this from the artifacts and architecture that was left behind by them hundreds of years ago. Yet, our knowledge about their way of life is limited because during the past thousands of years, nature has destroyed or grown over most of the history of the Olmec civilization. Some of what we know through the diligent work of archaeologists and researchers is as follows:
The name Olmec means 'Rubber People'. The Olmec civilization existed between 1200 BC and 600 AD. (dates vary in just about every article read) They lived along the Mexican gulf coast. The three largest Olmec communities were; La Venta, Tabasco; San Lorenzo, Tenochtitlan; and Laguna de los Vera Cruz. It was believed to be the first American culture with a distinct ruling class.
Researchers debate whether they descended from Africa or Asia because of their appearance. They had large lips, slanted eyes and dark skin. The Olmec people had enormous heads, which were often deformed. These cranial deformities were performed at birth to show nobility and were prevalent in the upper socioeconomic classes.
Olmecs were very clever mathematicians and astronomers. They made very accurate calendars. They were also the earliest users of the bar and dot system of recording time, which was later adopted by the Mayan's later, implemented this counting system for their calendar.
The Olmec people introduced writing to the New World. Their script was logo syllabic. The Olmecs had syllabic and hieroglyphic script. When broken down, it was discovered that the Olmec was used to write four different languages: Sumerian, Hittite, Assyriuan, and Akkadian. In 1986, a large stone was discovered in the Acula River, which contained examples of the Olmec writings.
The Olmec communities consisted of centers that contained great pyramids. Olmec centers actually had aqueduct systems, which were used to provide drinking water to the people. They created underground stone drain lines to provide water throughout the center, as well as to their crops. Not only were the Olmecs excellent farmers, but also they had access to waterways, which allowed them to supplement their diets by fishing and hunting.
Colossal heads were an essential part of the Olmec culture. They were found in most Olmec statues, monuments, and thrones. In 1862, one Olmec head sculpture was found that was approximately 6 feet tall and 5 feet across. Wood, jade and basalt were used to make some of their wonderful carvings and statues.
The Olmecs also made fine pottery and intricately carved jade jewelry. The jewelry is particularly interesting because jade was not found anywhere near Olmec civilizations. It is though that their intricate waterways and rivers were used to transport materials from hundreds of miles away, which was a great benefit to the Olmec way of life. This mode of transportation contributed to their ability to obtain food, building materials, and artistic materials.
Visit www.crystalinks.com\olmec.html and http://enmuseum.mnsu.edu/prehistory/latinamerica/meso/cultures/olmec.html
Play Ball
It is believed that the Olmec people may have been to the first to create rubber balls and play organized ball games.
Several rubber balls have been recovered ranging is size from the size of a baseball to the size of a beach ball. These balls were made from the abundant rubber trees that grew in the region. Ball courts were part of the architecture at the Olmec centers. The earliest know ball court is a Paso de la Amada, Mexico and dates back about 3600 years, which places it between the Mokaya and Olmec Cultures. The ball courts range from the size of a tennis court to the size of a football field. The courts were shaped like an 'I'. If the courts were built in permanent centers, they would have large sloped stone walls surrounding them. We can only speculate about how the games were played, but it is believed that the matches were religious and perhaps a type of ritual. The winners of the matches would be praised and possible given objects of wealth while the losers would sometimes be killed. www.bouncing-balls.com
The Mother Culture
For decades, the Maya were considered to be the 'mother culture' of Mexico, but in 1939, a carving was discovered that had an Olmec design on one side and a date symbol on the other side. This proved that the Olmecs had more right to be considered the mother culture.
Decades earlier than researchers had imagined, the Olmecs had developed complex societies that consisted of centers, farming communities, an aqueduct system and elaborate artwork and even a calendar.
They had developed societies with different socioeconomic classes including priests, kings, farmers, and commoners. It is speculated that the Olmecs in fact, had quite an impact on the Mayan civilization. www.mesoweb.com/olmec
Art
Olmec art was very powerful to their civilization and it left behind an attestation of an advanced civilization that existed centuries ago.
Olmec art depicted events, rituals, rulers, sacrifices and prayer, supernatural, and gods.
These are evident on tablets that have been found created by farmers which show the story of creation; infant and animal sacrifices portrayed on statues, and much more. Carved vessels have been found which were believed to have contained important objects that would allow the shaman to be journey into other realms to communicate with forces that would enable them to achieve power.
The Olmecs believed that the human body was divided into three cosmic levels, which is shown in their art: the celestial (thus the importance of the large heads), the terrestrial (bodies depicted sitting, standing and kneeling represent the different aspects of our environment), and the heavenly (represented by the lower parts of the body such as feet). www.tribalarts.com/feature/olmec
In conclusion, through the research that I have done on the Olmec civilization, I truly believe that they were culturally ahead of their time time. It was a society that developed a hierarchy, language, religion, art, writing, mathematics, sports, agriculture, and a transportation system. It is amazing to learn about all that they were capable of and exasperating to realize that the ways in which they accomplished many tasks may never be known.
Project 2 Component B
The Life of an Olmec Carver
You don’t know me. My name is Chiapas. I am but a carver and humble servant of my ruler, King May-U-Chi. I was born into the life of a servant because of the humble beginnings of my father before men and his father before him.
I come from the farming land just outside the grand center at La Venta, in Tabasco.
I hold the high honor of being the carver of the thrown for the King. Many men aspire to accomplish this task, but it has taken me decades of practice to be able to carve the most intricate and elaborately decorated monuments in order to be chosen by the King. I have been a carver to the king ever since I became a man. My father before me was also a master carver and taught me the careful art of carving. I use tools made from stones found in the earth.
I have led a modest but good life and the King treats me well for my service by giving food and small riches to my family. My family is also protected from being sacrificed as long as I am a servant to the King.
I live in a hut made from adobe, which I built myself. I live there with my wife and three sons. I hope someday to have a daughter, which may be soon as my wife Nakira is with child. Our home is small but we are fed full and kept warm because of the kindness of the King.
My wife and children work the fields near the waterway to provide food for the King first, and then for us. I gather stone, jade and basalt from miles down to river and return it via the waterway in order to carve fine statues and precious jewelry for King May-U-Chi.
We sometimes travel to the center to watch ball games. We take this time when there are no crops to tend to or carvings needed by the noble families. We watch as many men bounced the balls off of their bodies and the walls in hope of getting them through a hoop to make points. The King's mathematicians kept the points and kept track of the winners. I would not want to be a ball player, as the losers were sometimes slain.
We have been lucky in my family to be without illness or tragedy. We have been able to recover from minor illnesses by using the medicinal plants found around our land and the Shaman blesses us with good health in trade for carved jewelry.
I am teaching my sons my trade and hopefully someday they too will become master carvers to the king. I hope that they will lead a good and protected life as I have.