An early South American superpower.
Who were the Olmecs?
The Olmecs were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished between 1400 BCE and 400 BCE. They built monumental sculptures, complex cities, and developed an advanced writing system to record events and religious beliefs.
The Olmecs were renowned for their artistry, creating sculptures of humans and jaguars, and human-jaguar hybrids, from basalt stone. They also built large pyramids which served both spiritual and political purposes.
The Olmecs are also remembered for inventing a ritualized ballgame, sometimes known in English as pok-ta-pok, which inspired a number of future civilizations. They were also the first people to discover chocolate, which they used to create a bitter, unsweetened drink.
Modern studies
The Olmec civilization was unknown to historians until the middle of the 19th century, when a colossal stone head was discovered by a Mexican farmer clearing away some trees.
In the decades which followed, archaeologists descended on Mexico, and found several additional sites. Important excavations at San Lorenzo, La Venta and Tres Zapotes have revealed a wealth of Olmec artifacts, including sculptured figures, several pyramids, ballcourts for pok-ta-pok, and many more of those colossal heads.
These discoveries have provided invaluable insight into the culture and beliefs of this ancient civilization, and further excavations continue to uncover new evidence about them.
The origins of the Olmecs
The Olmecs developed their ancient culture in the Coatzacoalcos River Basin, a fertile region which provided similar conditions to the Nile, the Indus, the Yellow River, and the Euphrates in other parts of the world. These conditions allowed the Olmecs to grow into an advanced, urban society.
The Coatzacoalcos River Basin was also well-placed for trade routes with other regions of Mesoamerica. This enabled the Olmecs to acquire materials such as jade and obsidian from Guatemala which were used in their sculptures and monuments.
The first Olmec city was in San Lorenzo, but it was abandoned in 900 BCE, as the culture relocated to La Venta. This was probably due to environmental changes, such as the river changing its course.
The African Theory
While it is generally accepted that the Olmecs arose in the Coatzacoalcos River Basin, in the late 20th century, a revisionist historian named Ivan Van Sertima proposed an alternative theory.
He suggested that the Olmecs had migrated to Mesoamerica from Africa. This theory was based on supposed similarities between African and Olmec artworks. Van Sermita was dismissed by most Olmec scholars, who pointed out that there was no archaeological evidence to support his claims.
Then, in 2018, DNA testing was performed on ancient Olmec remains. As it turned out, the Olmecs were not related to any African population, but shared genetic markers with the indigenous populations of Mexico and Central America. This disproved Van Sertima’s controversial hypothesis once and for all.
Olmec script
The Olmecs may have used a writing system known as Olmec script. Not many examples have been found so far, but in 2002 a block of stone was discovered with 62 symbols carved across the surface.
These symbols have not been deciphered, and some historians doubt it is a writing system at all. But if it is a writing system, it would represent the oldest writing in the Western Hemisphere, dating back to around 900 BCE. That does not take into account the earlier Caral-Supe quipu, whose classification as a writing system is also subject to debate.
Other objects have been found with similar symbols, but they are few and far between. When compared to the writings of other cultures, such as the 150,000 oracle bones of the Shang Dynasty, the evidence is very thin.
Serpents and jaguars
Olmec art provides some clues as to the nature of their religious beliefs. Carvings on monuments and pottery vessels depict deities such as a feathered serpent, which may have represented duality: the snake symbolized the earth, while the feathers symbolized the sky.
Another common representation are werejaguars – supernatural beings with features of both humans and jaguars. These were important deities in Olmec culture, and may also have linked to a sense of duality by combining two species into one.
Other aspects of Olmec religion are hard to pin down without written sources, but they seem to have inspired later Mesoamerican civilizations, like the Mayas and the Aztecs, who also worshiped a feathered serpent called Quetzalcoatl.
Did the Olmecs sacrifice humans?
Historians have long debated whether the Olmecs practiced human sacrifice, like several of the Mesoamerican civilizations which came after them.
The bones of children have also been found among other sacrificial offerings, but it is unknown how these children originally died. Perhaps they were killed by natural causes before their bodies were given to the gods. Other evidence includes Olmec sculptures depicting individuals with bound hands and feet, but these images are far from conclusive.
Whether or not they performed human sacrifices, historians believe that bloodletting played a role in Olmec worship. Stingray spikes have been found in Olmec temples, which were probably used to draw blood from human skin.
Building and ballgames
The most famous artifacts of Olmec culture are their colossal basalt heads. These heads are almost 4 meters tall, and have distinctive features such as broad noses, thick lips, and flat foreheads. They probably represented rulers or gods, but their exact purpose remains unknown.
The Great Pyramid at La Venta is another example of Olmec engineering; it stands over 30 meters tall and was built using an estimated 100,000 cubic meters of earth. The pyramid is thought to have been used for religious ceremonies or rituals, although its exact function has yet to be determined.
The Olmecs also built courts for playing their famous ballgame. This game involved two teams competing using rubber balls, and may have served a religious function, with the winner receiving good luck. Alternatively, it was used for conflict resolution, instead of resorting to violent warfare.
The decline of the Olmecs
Historians do not know what caused the decline of the Olmec culture, but many factors have been suggested. A common explanation is a significant environmental change, such as the Coatzacoalcos River changing course, leading to crop failures and eventual starvation.
Another explanation is volcanic activity. Significant ashfall could have damaged crops and made living conditions difficult for those who remained there. In addition to these external factors, internal conflicts between rival cities may have contributed to the downfall of the Olmecs.
It is a similar story to other ancient cultures: environmental changes destabilize the society, then in-fighting leads to collapse. Historians believe that the Indus Valley Civilization suffered a similar fate.
The legacy of the Olmecs
The Olmecs left a lasting legacy on the civilizations of Mesoamerica, with their influence felt in both the Mayas and the Aztecs who emerged in later centuries.
The Mayans adopted many aspects of Olmec religion, including the worship of similar gods. They also venerated jaguars, and played their own version of the Olmec ballgame. The Aztecs tell a similar story. The word ‘Olmec’ is actually an Aztec word; we do not know what the Olmecs called themselves.
Modern people also follow in the footsteps of the Olmecs, often without realizing it. Chocolate is one of the most popular foods in the modern world, and the Olmecs must be thanked for its discovery.
