- Olmec
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adj.1. of or designating a Mesoamerican civilization, c1000-400 B.C., along the southern Gulf coast of Mexico, characterized by extensive agriculture, a dating system, long-distance trade networks, pyramids and ceremonial centers, and very fine jade work.n.2. a member of the ancient people who belonged to the Olmec civilization.
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First elaborate pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica.The Olmec lived in the lowland gulf coast of what is now southern Mexico. Developing a wide trading network, their cultural influence spread north to the Valley of Mexico and south to Central America; later native religions and iconography throughout Mesoamerica have Olmec roots. Their oldest known building site, San Lorenzo, which dates to с 1150 BC, is remarkable for its colossal stone sculptures of human heads. The dominant motif in Olmec art is the figure of a god that is a hybrid of a jaguar and a human infant. Olmec buildings, monuments, and art style all indicate a complex and nonegalitarian society.* * *
▪ peoplethe first elaborate pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica, and one that is thought to have set many of the fundamental patterns evinced by later Indian cultures of Mexico and Central America.The Olmec people lived in hot, humid lowlands along the Gulf Coast in what is now southern Veracruz and Tabasco states in southern Mexico. The first evidence of their remarkable art style appears at about 1200 BC in their oldest known building site, San Lorenzo. This site is remarkable for its many stone monuments, prominent among which are colossal carved heads that have characteristic flat faces and helmetlike headgear. In the late 20th century, a stone slab engraved with symbols that appear to have been the Olmec writing system was discovered in the village of Cascajal, near San Lorenzo. The Cascajal stone dates to approximately 900 BC and may be the oldest example of writing from the Americas. A later Olmec ceremonial centre, La Venta, is marked by great mounds, a narrow plaza, and several other ceremonial enclosures. In the 21st century, inscribed carvings suggestive of later Mayan glyphs also were found at La Venta.The Olmecs developed a wide trading network, and between 1100 and 800 BC their cultural influence spread northwestward to the Valley of Mexico and southeastward to parts of Central America. It is clear that later Mesoamerican (Mesoamerican civilization) native religions and iconography, from all parts of the area, can be traced back to Olmec beginnings. Besides monumental architecture and sculpture, Olmec art is expressed in small jade carvings, pottery, and other media. Its dominant motif is the stylized figure of a god that is a hybrid between a jaguar and a human infant. From the Olmecs' constructions and monuments, as well as from the sophistication and power of their art, it is evident that their society was complex and nonegalitarian.Olmec stylistic influence disappeared after about 400 BC. Not all of the Olmec sites were abandoned, but Olmec culture gradually changed, and the region ceased to be the cultural leader of Mesoamerica. See also Mesoamerican civilization.Additional ReadingMichael D. Coe, The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership (1995); Elizabeth P. Benson, Beatriz de la Fuente, and Marcia Castro-Leal (eds.), Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico (1996); John E. Clark and Mary E. Pye (eds.), Olmec Art and Archaeology in Mesoamerica (2000, reissued 2005).* * *
Universalium. 2010.
