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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.
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.
Zero – the Olmec independently invented the concept of zero. The second earliest found instance of the use of zero—in Mesoamerica—has been dated to 32 BCE by the Epi-Olmec culture. This date has been arrived at based on the Long Count date on Stela C at Tres Zapotes. The symbol used for "zero" is a shell glyph, which is seen on the stone ...
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.
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.
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 ...
“Few Olmec objects have the history, aesthetic quality, and iconographic significance of this superb jade figure.” Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum acquires Olmec statuette described as a ...
In addition to the fruits and woodlouse, they were trading with precious metals and handicrafts. From very early dates they were integrated as producers of minerals, especially magnetite. It has been proven that during the Middle Pre-classic period the red ceramic was a product of trade with the Olmecs of the Gulf of Mexico. [7]