Knowra Olmecs Olmecs The Olmecs were an ancient Mesoamerican people whose civilization flourished along Mexico’s Gulf Coast, especially from about 1200 to 400 BCE. They are known for monumental sculpture, distinctive artworks, and influential early urban centers.
San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán : An Olmec center in present-day Veracruz, prominent during the second millennium BCE and known for colossal stone heads. Its monumental sculptures and planned landscape make it a key early Olmec center.
Mesoamerica : A historical cultural region extending from central Mexico through much of Central America, marked by interconnected societies and traditions. The Olmecs were one of the earliest major civilizations within this broader region.
Slash-and-burn agriculture : A farming method that clears vegetation by cutting and burning it before planting crops in the exposed soil. Shifting cultivation helped support communities in the humid Gulf lowlands.
Olmec art : The sculpture, carving, figurines, and other visual works produced in Olmec cultural settings. Its styles and subjects convey the visual world associated with Olmec communities.
Olmec influence : The debated extent to which Olmec styles, practices, and ideas affected other Mesoamerican societies. Shared motifs and objects prompt questions about cultural transmission beyond the Gulf Coast.
La Venta : An Olmec ceremonial center in present-day Tabasco, flourishing especially between about 900 and 400 BCE. Its pyramid, offerings, and sculptures show the later scale of Olmec ceremonial life.
Gulf Coast of Mexico : The lowland coastal region bordering the Gulf of Mexico, including the modern Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. Its rivers, wetlands, and fertile soils formed the Olmec civilization’s core landscape.
Maize : A domesticated cereal crop originating in the Americas and a staple food across ancient Mesoamerica. Maize cultivation underpinned the food supply that sustained Olmec settlements.
Olmec were-jaguar motif : A recurring Olmec image combining human and jaguar features, often associated with supernatural beings. The motif shows how animal-human transformations shaped Olmec religious imagery.
Maya civilization : A Mesoamerican civilization with a long history of city-states, hieroglyphic writing, monumental architecture, and scientific achievements. Comparisons with the Maya test broad claims that later civilizations directly inherited Olmec institutions.
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