By their remaining material, and artistic achievements, we are aware that the Olmec's, perhaps possessed by the grace of knowledge, had reached their culture's highest peak.

Indeed, what an artistic, and cultural distance is perceived between the great sculptures created by these people, and the abundant clay figurines present at that time in many other Mesoamerican regions!!! It's a phenomenon that can't be thoroughly explained: how a group of men accomplished - by growing from villages to a planned center, by changing clay modeling for stone sculpting - a development that is the passage from darkness to civilization, from uncertainty to knowledge.

There is no doubt in my mind, that the Olmec's were our first native ancestors in reaching this level; that they were the first to attain a cultural balance which implied a self sufficient economy, a stable social and political organization, and an effective religion, capable of solving the tension between man and his surroundings.

Although our knowledge of the Olmec Culture is limited, it still is enough to support these general statements; but it doesn't apply in clearing up the finer points relative to their beliefs, customs, and true social structure; these, and many other cultural details, remain an enigma.

Olmec, indigenous people of Mesoamerica, who established one of the region's first major civilizations. They lived along the central coast of the Gulf of Mexico, just west of the Yucat?n Peninsula, in the swampy jungle river basins of the present-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. Over time, they extended their influence through the highlands of Mexico; the Valley of Mexico; Oaxaca; and westwards to Guerrero. The Olmec flourished between about 1500 and 600 BC. San Lorenzo, their oldest known center, was destroyed around 900 BC. It was replaced by La Venta, a city built in an axial pattern that influenced urban development in Central America for centuries. A mounded earthen pyramid about 30 m (about 100 ft) high, among the earliest in Mesoamerica, was the center of a complex of temples and plazas.
The Olmec were among the first Mesoamerican peoples to use stone in sculpture and architecture, even though it had to be quarried in distant mountains. Their colossal stone heads of males, about 2.7 m (about 9 ft) high, can be seen today, along with other Olmec artifacts, in the Mexican city of Villahermosa. Olmec writing, a numerical system, was the precursor of other Mesoamerican forms of writing. The Olmec civilization established patterns of culture that influenced its successors for centuries to come.

Ball Player, Monument 34

Olmec Ceremonial Ax combines human and jaguar features, doubtless representing an Olmec deity. It is jade and stands 30 cm (12"). It was made during a period that lasted from 700-300 B.C. and is now part of the British Museum in London. ? 1997-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved

Colossal Head Number 6
San Lorenzo

DON'T MISS the 1940 National Geographic on Matthew W. Stirling's Olmec Diggings...CLICK HERE >