We learned about the Olmecs briefly in our readings and videos, but not much is known about them. Who were the Olmecs? Where did they come from?
The origins of the Olmecs are unknown, but they are thought to have appeared around the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers found two major Olmec cities, San Lorenzo and La Venta. They grew corn and beans yearly and gathered the abundant amount of local plants, palm nuts, and sea life. San Lorenzo thrived from 1200 until their collapse in 900 B.C.E and La Venta began to flourish after the collapse of San Lorenzo, the cause of its collapse is unclear.
Barclay, Shelly. “The Olmecs and How They Vanished from History.” Historic Mysteries, 5 June 2016, http://www.historicmysteries.com/the-olmecs-and-how-they-vanished-from-history/.
La Venta declined around 400 B.C.E along with the Olmec civilization. It is also unclear how that happened. After the fall of La Venta, an Epi-Olmec civilization emerged and they settled in Tres Zapotes, which was a city that prospered for awhile. The people of the Epi-Olmecs also developed a calendar and a writing system.
The Olmecs created huge monuments, some examples include the colossal stone heads, thrones, and statues. The meaning of the big heads are unclear, some say it represents their gods, but the heads have human features, so it may have represented their ancestors. The heads were carved using only stone hammers and it was a laborious process that required a lot of man power. They were also great carvers of jade and it was found in many of their objects, they would trade or conquer to obtain it. They traded with other cultures from Central America to the Valley of Mexico, they made and traded their masks, figurines, and small statues in exchange for materials like jade and serpentine. They also received crocodile skins, seashells, shark teeth, cacao, and salt. The Olmecs also created a numerical system based on 20 and a calendar that combined a 365-day year with a 260-day ritual cycle. This became the foundation of all Mesoamerican calendar systems.
Minster, Christopher. “The Colossal Heads of the Olmec.” ThoughtCo, 25 Jan. 2019, http://www.thoughtco.com/the-colossal-heads-of-the-olmec-2136318.
Misra, Bibhu Dev. “Olmec Yogis with Hindu Beliefs: Did They Migrate from Ancient China?” Ancient Inquiries, 31 Aug. 2016, http://www.bibhudevmisra.com/2016/08/olmec-yogis-with-hindu-beliefs-did-they.html.
The Olmecs had a developed religion, they believed in several gods and the universe. There were three parts of the universe that they believed in, the first was earth and it was represented by the Olmec dragon. The second one was the watery underworld that was represented by a fish monster. The last one was the sky and it was represented by a bird monster. There were five more gods that they worshipped, the Maize (corn) god, water god, the feathered serpent, the banded-eye god, and the were-jaguar. Some of these gods, especially the feathered serpent will later live on in the religions of the Aztecs and the Maya. They also had mythology and people gathered near the ceremonial centers to watch the priests and their rulers perform ceremonies. It is believed that the Olmecs practiced human sacrifices and cannibalism.
Olmec civilization can be seen as a parent culture of the Mesoamerica. Their religion and cultures were able to survive and evolve into later cultures.
Questions:
- What are your thoughts on the Olmecs?
- What factors do you think that could have caused the disappearance of the Olmecs?
Citations:
Cartwright, Mark. “Olmec Civilization.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 27 Sept. 2020, http://www.ancient.eu/Olmec_Civilization/.
Minster, Christopher. “Who Were the Ancient Olmec?” ThoughtCo, 30 May 2019, http://www.thoughtco.com/the-olmec-overview-2136304.
Minster, Christopher. “The Colossal Heads of the Olmec.” ThoughtCo, 25 Jan. 2019, http://www.thoughtco.com/the-colossal-heads-of-the-olmec-2136318.
Minster, Christopher. “Why Did the Ancient Olmec Civilization Disappear?” ThoughtCo, 19 Sept. 2018, http://www.thoughtco.com/the-decline-of-the-olmec-civilization-2136291.
The Medieval World at GV 
I think that the Olmecs are a very interesting civilization to look at. I think that they have amazing artwork, and I wish we understood more of the meaning of these monuments.
I think that many factors contributed to the decline and disappearance of the Olmecs. To me, it seems similar to that of the Mayas. They were also at their height when they disappeared. I think some contributing factors may have been a sudden decline, and internal problems, as well as environmental factors, could have contributed.
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I think any civilization could be susceptible to collapse whenever they’ve reached the height of power, as there could always be someone that wants that power for themselves. It’s also possible that a shortage of food could also have contributed to their decline, but it’s difficult to say for sure. I think their decline was due to a combination of both internal and environmental factors, just like you said.
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My thoughts on the Olmecs is that they are an interesting civilization. They are the first major empire in Mexico, and that can show a lot of influence in other empires. The Olmec’s religion is like the other Mesoamerica cultures, as the variety of gods that can be seen in the Aztec’s religion. Having a corn god, feathered serpent, and a banded-eye god I feel like would be super creative, and I wonder what could have inspired into the thought of those gods.
I would assume that the Olmec’s disappearance is a cause of agricultural and sustainability issues in their community, as even other major civilizations had issues with agriculture and keeping their community happy.
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Ryan, your reasoning for their disappearance was very interesting and something I had not thought about!
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The olmecs are a very interesting civilization. I think it is very cool how they made rubber people such a big part of their civilization. . I think it would be cool to have something like this be apart of my culture, so I could tell stories about this. I think some factors that led to the disappearance of the olmecs was the environmental changes as well as culture changes.
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I thought this blog post was very interesting to read. It’s cool to read about certain civilizations and see how they lived their life. It’s crazy to think about how they were able to live the life they did and be able to survive as long as they did. I think they disappeared for many different reasons, but cultural change being the biggest reason for their disappearance.
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I really enjoyed reading your post. I loved the pictures you added! The Olmecs were interesting to learn about their art and creativity in the sculptures is very fun to learn about. The massive stone heads are just incredible!
I think that there are a few factors that led to the disappearance of the Olmecs. I think that the agricultural changes as well have substantial economic factors. I feel as if most civilizations tend to fall for similar reasons. Obviously, the disappearance of civilizations happens because something major is wrong with the structure of civilization.
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I’ve heard of the Mayans and the Aztecs, but I had never heard of the Olmecs before taking this class. After learning more about them I think they should be talked about more than they usually are. The only issue with this is that, apart from the few things we do know, we barely know anything about them. There are so many things we all would like to know about them but there just isn’t enough information out there in terms of artifacts. Nothing lasts forever, and that includes any civilization. I think the Olmecs could’ve declined due to a variety of reasons, such as increased hostilities between the people that lived there and a shortage of food. We can’t possibly know for sure unless we find out more about them in the future, but anything is possible with how their decline played out.
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1. After reading this post I think that the olmecs are interesting and I learned so many different things. I personally enjoyed learning about the olmecs. I thought it was interesting when you talked about the sculptures. I thought the sculptures/art was cool. I liked the pictures you provided us it helped create a better understanding of the importance of the art. I learned a lot about the olmecs and I never knew about them until reading this reading.
2. I think the major reason of the olmecs falling off would be the agriculture changes. It is hard to keep existing when the economic areas change. Another thing that I believe that helped them fall off is the culture slowly started to become less popular and it caused a decline.
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On the Olmecs suddenly going missing – honestly, considering how many practiced ritual cannibalism and how many other mesoamerican civilizations just went missing, I wonder if it might have had something to do with that? As in, some kind of degenerative prion disease related to consumption of flesh. As with the Fore people of Papa New Guinea, it seems plausible to me that the practice could have wiped out huge numbers of people over a generation, since prion diseases can sometimes take years to manifest. Also, considering that one of the basic facts of the later Aztec’s beliefs was that the world had suddenly ended several times in the past, it doesn’t seem like a huge stretch. If everyone just starts dying and no one knows why, I’m sure that would be interpreted by survivors as an act of god.
Another reason could have been the climate, since their slash-and-burn farming methods stressed the land much more than usual. And war, I’m sure, was always a factor, but you would think there would be more lingering evidence to support it if they were killed or enslaved.
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