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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 ceramic figurines that have been found there represent pregnant women and could have influenced later Olmec civilization. Olmec art shows that they could have adopted very similar styles of art. [110] These connections show the complexity of Mesoamerican culture through the discovery of more and more ceramics throughout the region.
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.
For this reason, many anthropologists consider the Olmec civilization to be the mother culture of the many Mesoamerican cultures that followed it. By 300 BCE, this culture was eclipsed by other emerging cultures in Mesoamerica. [4] The Olmec heartland where the Olmecs reigned from 1400 - 400 BCE.
Michael Coe finds it "one of the supreme examples of Olmec art". [2] The Olmec heartland is the southern portion of Mexico's Gulf Coast region between the Tuxtla mountains and the Olmec archaeological site of La Venta, extending roughly 80 km (50 mi) inland from the Gulf of Mexico coastline at its deepest.
Laguna de los Cerros is a little-excavated Olmec and Classical era archaeological site, located in the vicinity of Corral Nuevo, within the municipality of Acayucan, in the Mexican state of Veracruz, in the southern foothills of the Tuxtla Mountains, some 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the Laguna Catemaco.
Matthew Stirling posing with the primary figure from Altar 5, La Venta.This is a still from the Smithsonian Institution's Exploring Hidden Mexico (1943).. Matthew Williams Stirling (August 28, 1896 – January 23, 1975) [1] was an American ethnologist, archaeologist and later an administrator at several scientific institutions in the field.
The Olmec are the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization, and their art carried an extremely distinct style. When Covarrubias discovered the Olmec-style artifacts being sold at Tlatilco he was unsure as to whether they had been excavated on site, or had been imported from other sites in modern times to be sold there.