Starting about 1500 b. c.e., the Olmecs developed the first complex society in Mesoamerica. Historians do not know what the Olmecs called themselves. The name used for them today comes from the Aztec word Olmeca, which means “rubber people”—the Olmecs lived in the region where rubber trees grew.
The Olmecs created an advanced culture based on farming, particularly corn. The upper classes of rulers, warriors, and priests (sometimes called shamans) lived in cities, while the common farmers lived in rural areas.
Remains of the Olmec culture—earth mounds and pyramids—have been found at several sites, including two known today as San Lorenzo and La Venta.
The Olmecs were builders. La Venta, located on an island in a swamp, featured a cone-shaped mound of clay more than 100 feet high. Historians have found several earthworks, or mounds, in San Lorenzo that served a religious purpose. The most important mound there reaches 150 feet high. It was built by hundreds of workers using hand tools and carrying the dirt up the slope by the basketful. San Lorenzo also had a stone system for draining wastewater. This drainage system is the oldest ever found in the Americas.
Giant stone heads like this one are the most well-known artifacts of the Olmec culture. Archaeologists think the giant heads represented the Olmec kings.
The Olmecs were also sculptors. They carved massive stone heads, some measuring as much a 10 feet high. The heads have flat faces, broad noses, and thick lips. The heads appear to be wearing helmets, and several archaeologists think the heads represent Olmec kings. The stone heads found in San Lorenzo are especially remarkable because they were made from stone originally found about 50 miles away. Workers had to cut the stone from the mountains and haul it to its final site. Archaeologists believe the Olmecs did this by putting log rollers under the stone as they pulled it along.
There are no definite dates for the Olmec culture. They probably thrived from about 1500 to 400 b. c.e., but their impact on other emerging cultures in the region lasted long after the Olmecs had disappeared. They introduced the idea of human sacrifice—killing humans as a gift to their gods. They practiced bloodletting, which
COIMIMECTIOISIS
The Metlatl
The metlatl is one of the oldest household tools in the Americas. it has been used since about 7000 B. c.E. in some places, it is still used today.
In ancient times, the women first soaked corn kernels overnight in a clay pot filled with water and the chemical lime or ashes from a fire. the lime or ashes helped soften the kernels and also added calcium. in the morning, the women put the softened ker
Nels into the metlatl and used a rock shaped like a rolling pin with flattened sides (the metlapilli—a Nahuatl word that means "child of the metlatl") to crush them.
The metlatl usually had three legs to hold the stone at an angle so that crushing the grain was easier. The women took the prepared corn and used it to make tortillas or tamales—dishes that are still eaten today.
Means making a person bleed as part of a religious ceremony. Both the Maya and the Aztecs also practiced sacrifices and bloodletting. The Olmecs also began the idea of building temples in the shape of pyramids. From the top of these tall buildings, they offered sacrifices and hoped to get closer to their gods. They also created a system for writing down ideas in stone using images—an early form of writing.
World History
