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Chronologically, the history of the Olmecs can be divided into the Early Formative (1800-900 BCE), Middle Formative (900-400 BCE) and Late Formative (400 BCE-200AD). The Olmecs are known as the "mother culture" of Mesoamerica, meaning that the Olmec civilization was the first culture that spread and influenced Mesoamerica.
The "Acrobat", ceramic art from Tlatilco, dated 1200-900 BCE.This figurine's left knee has a hole for pouring liquid. Archaeologically, the advent of the Tlatilco culture is denoted by a widespread dissemination of artistic conventions, pottery, and ceramics known as the Early Horizon (also known as the Olmec or San Lorenzo Horizon), Mesoamerica's earliest archaeological horizon.
While the Olmec were not the first in Mesoamerica to organize long-distance exchanges of goods, the Olmec period saw a significant expansion in interregional trade routes, more variety in material goods exchanged and a greater diversity in the sources from which the base materials were obtained.
Very little Olmec or other Early Formative era art shows war or sacrifice. [20] No stelae have been found extolling rulers' victories, unlike the later Maya or the contemporaneous Egyptian or Hittite cultures. Olmec colonization, that is the founding of new settlements by Olmec emigrants outside of the Olmec heartland, is unlikely.
Olmec-style murals in the Oxotitlán, Juxtlahuaca and Cauadzidziqui caves and sculpture from the Teopantecuanitlan site, confirm a strong connection with Chalcatzingo in the Valley of Morelos. Iconographic representations similarities of these sites with the Pacific coast of Chiapas and Guatemala, depict closer relations than those suggested by ...
La Venta, an important Olmec site, has the same orientation, which indicates an understanding of astronomy and a calendar system (Evans 2004, pp. 122–123). Exclusively at San José Mogote mirrors of polished magnetite were made and traded to the Olmec Gulf Coast, some 250 miles (400 km) distant. Trade with other areas is also suggested by the ...
San Lorenzo and the Olmec heartland.. Matthew Stirling was the first to begin excavations on the site after a visit in 1938. [12] Between 1946 and 1970, four archaeological projects were undertaken, including one Yale University study headed by Michael Coe and Richard Diehl conducted between 1966 and 1968, followed by a lull until 1990.
The Olmecs were the first Mesoamerican culture to produce an identifiable artistic and cultural style and may also have been the society that invented writing in Mesoamerica. By the Middle Preclassic Period (900–300 BCE), Olmec artistic styles had been adopted as far away as the Valley of Mexico and Costa Rica.