🏛️ The Olmec (c. 1800-500 BCE) built earth platforms over 10 meters tall stretching a kilometer long. Without local stone, they imported basalt, jade, obsidian, and hematite from distant sources, exporting carved religious items across Mesoamerica. Their worldview featured a three-tiered cosmos and a shamanic jaguar transformation cult.
Olmec civilization overview: platforms, trade networks, and religious export
Key facts
- Olmec civilization dates from approximately 1800 BCE to 500 BCE
- Olmec earth platforms often stood at least 10 meters tall and stretched over a kilometer long
- Hundreds of Olmec platforms exist, most oriented slightly off north-south
- Olmec heartland lacked stone materials; basalt came from distant volcanoes, obsidian and jade from the east, hematite from the west
- Olmec imported raw materials (hematite, jade) and exported carved items with religious iconography to neighbors
- Olmec religion featured a three-tiered cosmos (heavens, world of men, underworld) and a jaguar transformer cult involving shamanism
Sources
Timeline: Mesoamerica - World History Encyclopediaworldhistory.org
La Venta becomes the Olmec capital. 500 BCE - 900 CE. The Zapotec Civilization flourishes in Mesoamerica. 500 BCE - 450 BCE. Monte Alban becomes the capital ...
Olmec Civilization - National Geographic Educationeducation.nationalgeographic.org
... 500 B.C.E. timeframe represent the Olmec society. The name Olmec was actually invented by scholars. Derived from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word “ ...
Mesoamerica | History | Research Starters - EBSCOebsco.com
Mesoamerican civilization features four dominant cultures: Olmec (1400 BCE–500 BCE), Maya (300–900 CE), Aztec (1200–1300s to European conquest), and Inca (1400s) ...
Mesoamerican chronology - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
The Olmec civilization developed and flourished at such sites as La Venta and San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, eventually succeeded by the Epi-Olmec culture between ...
Discovering the Olmecs: An Unconventional Historythearchcons.org
They flourished for more than 700 years, from about 1150 to 400 B.C. ... Discovering the Olmecs is a fascinating history of archaeological ...
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