The first signs of complex society in Mesoamerica are that of the Olmec civilization. The Olmec had several known villages, one of the most important being San Lorenzo. The Olmec civilization at San Lorenzo existed from 1500 to 400 B.C.E. and flourished from 1200 to 900 B.C.E. The site is located in the hot, swampy lowlands along the Gulf of Mexico, south of present-day Veracruz. There are two major sites from which archaeologists have gained their knowledge of the Olmec. One of these sites is La Venta, the other is San Lorenzo.
Until the early 1900's, the Maya civilization was considered to be the parent culture in Mesoamerica from which all other societies sprouted. There have been many Mayan sculptures and carvings found in the region, so all other carvings were also considered to be that of the Maya. One difference in the carving is that some carvings of large heads had faces with more African looking features than many of the other Mayan works. There was also evidence of a half-jaguar half-man beast, which also did not fit in with other Mayan finds. It wasn't until 1929, when Marshall H Saville, the Director of the Museum of American Indian in New York, classified these new works as an entirely new culture not of Mayan heritage. He named this culture Olmec, which means the "rubber people."
In 1939, an excavation of an Olmec site found a stela, which changed all views on the Maya being the oldest civilization. One side had Olmec carvings while the other showed a row of dots and bars, believed to be a dating method. According to the numbers on the stela, the Olmec had recorded a date almost 300 years earlier than that of the earliest Mayan carved monument.
The oldest Olmec site is San Lorenzo. At its height, this village had a population of less than 1,000 people. The inhabitants were farmers and fishermen who also did a small amount of hunting. The major crops were maize, beans, and squash. The fishing season coincided with the flooding of the river. The men would catch fish in landlocked ponds after the flooding of the river subsided. Along with fish, the Olmec would catch turtles for their main source of protein. If the fishing was slow and the turtle hunting was not going well, the Olmec would substitute domesticated dog and turkey meat in their diet.
Along with farmers, there were a few other classes in Olmec society. A single family, who owned the best farmland and were the hardest workers, ruled the Olmec. There was also a large work force that built ceremonial sites and helped move large, carved stones. Some members of this group are believed to have been farmers. Because of the large amount of carved monuments found at San Lorenzo, researchers agree that there must have been a class of full-time artisans. Many carved artifacts have been found ranging from small jade and clay figurines to large basalt stone heads. The small figurines were used as ornamental or ceremonial pieces and could be worn on a necklace or belt. The large basalt heads usually depicted a god or an important chief. The largest of these stone heads stood 10 feet tall and weighed over 20 tons.
Along with skilled carvings of massive stone heads, the Olmec were also good engineers. They developed what is believed to be the first form of water control in the New World. San Lorenzo has a complicated drainage system made of U-shaped stones placed end to end to make a trench for running water. There is one main channel that is fed by three tributary channels. The joints connecting these three channels to the main channel show the skill of the Olmec engineers. When these 3000 year-old drainage systems were rediscovered, some had collapsed or were filled in, but those that remained intact still diverted and drained water after a heavy rain.
With skilled artisans and engineers, the Olmec seemed to be a fairly advanced culture. By the fourth century B.C.E., the once strong civilization had collapsed. Competition from other Mesoamerican cultures or a growing dependence on imported commodities may have sealed the fate of San Lorenzo and the Olmec. No one knows the exact cause of the disappearance of a once great civilization. But one thing is clear. The Olmec artisans left their mark by influencing all other Mesoamerican cultures, starting with the Maya.
The Olmec was the earliest civilization found in Mesoamerica. They were earlier than the Aztec and earlier than the Maya. But even though the Olmec populated the area first, a single question still remains- where did the Olmec come from?
Sources:
Coe, Michael D., & Grove, David The Olmec & Their Neighbors (Washington D.C., Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections, 1981).
Davies, Nigel The Ancient Kingdoms of Mexico (New York, Penguin Books, 1982).
Duiker, William J., & Spielvogel, Jackson J. World History (California, Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1998).
Luckert, Karl W., Olmec Religion (Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma Press, 1976).
Map: The Heartland of Mesoamerica.
Sabloff, Jeremy A., The Cities of Ancient Mexico (New York, Thames and Hudson Inc., 1989).
Written by Brian Mandelkow