by & dylan johnson & leesha cessna. the olmecs - geography the olmecs lived in the gulf of...

By

&

Dylan Johnson & Leesha Cessna

The Olmecs - Geography

• The Olmecs lived in the Gulf of Mexico from around 1200BCE to around 600CE.

•Their three primary bases were the centers of La Venta, San Lorenzo, and Laguna de los Cerros.

•Each center functioned off of different resources

La Venta

San Lorenzo

Laguna de los Cerros

Trade• Each center of Olmec domain produced distinct exports.

• La Venta is near numerous bodies of water that connected to the coast which could have provided cacao, rubber, and salt.

• San Lorenzo controlled the river line trade routes and was more than likely one of the most abundant sources of pottery for that region at the time.

• Laguna de los Cerros is positioned near important sources of basalt, a stone used to create their famous figurines.

• Trade was made possible by easy access to rivers and the Gulf of Mexico. Strong allies were made through trade relations.

A recognizable Olmec Tuxtla “Giant Head” monument

War

• The Olmecs, as noted by Giant Head sculptures and ancient armor, were definitely warriors.

This particular Giant head is wearing a war-like helmet.

Agriculture• They were a highly developed agricultural

society.

• The rich soils were located on the river basins.

• The crop managers were the elites of the community.

That is corn.

Weaponry• It appears that warfare was ironically

ambiguous or scarce for the warlike Olmecs.

• Paddle Shaped Clubs have been recovered from archaeological sites

Population Growth and Decline• Population decline in La Venta resulted in its fall.• Olmec bases were abandoned for unknown reasons.• It is possible that a large amount of the Olmecs left their

civilizations in search of fortune.• However, disease and disasters are still plausible

explanations

Ruins of a Mosaic Platform in La Venta

Disease• Not much is known about the Olmec’s

demise but some believe that some sort of widespread plague was involved.

This Jade Perforator is one of the many found in Olmec grave sites. It was probably placed there as a symbolic item rather than its traditional use of spilling blood for sacrifices.

Migrations• Again, not enough is known about the Olmecs

to determine specific migrations.• It is believed that the Olmecs made twelve

migrations to the new world in ships made of “barks”.

This Stela, “Stela No. 5”, (apparently) proves that the ancient Olmecs believed in the Tree of Life and that they made their 12 migrations to the New World in Bark ships.

Social Structures• The Olmecs had different social ranks.• The Olmec society was made up of fishers,

farmers, traders and specialists (artisans and sculptors), and Rulers.

• Rulers had special rights like floating basalt down the river and allowing public art as well as the rise of colossal statues.

Basalt is a rock the Olmecs used to construct their giant head statues.

Gender Structures• Based on there Olmec’s burial organization,

their society doesn’t seem to place females on different levels.

It’s hard to see but the pyramid to the right was probably designed to contain the dead bodies for numerous Olmecs. The sub-floor burials of women suggest that their societies weren’t so gender specific.

pyramid

ArtBelieving that the Jaguar was the most powerful of all animals as well as a rain deity, the Olmecs constructed small figurines of men-Jaguar-Hybrids to represent their evolutionary descent from the Jaguar.

The Olmecs superstitiously believed in small mischievous dwarfs who lived in waterfalls. The figurine to the right is a representation of such

The most famous type of Olmec art are the giant heads

Writing System • The Olmec people introduced writing to the New World.• The Olmec had a syllabic and a hieroglyphic script. • There are two forms of Olmec hieroglyphic writing: the

pure hieroglyphics, and the phonetic hieroglyphics, a combination of syllabic and logographic signs.

The Olmec slab to the right is believed to contain some of the oldest writing in the new world.

Literature/Sacred Writings

Most, if not all, of Olmec writings seem to be indecipherable hieroglyphics found in Olmec archeological sites.

Government

• Olmec government was believed to be theocratic because research as conservation efforts reveal religious centers and both monumental and small-sized sculptures.

• The farmers that controlled the food sources eventually became the elites who eventually considered themselves to be Gods.

Family Organization • Olmec is the only ancient

civilization known today that celebrates the miracle of the human baby.

Ceramic figurines, made by the Olmecs, have been found that represent babies. Some have symbols incised or cut into them which may indicate clan or family. The figure to the right symbolizes a baby.

Religious Beliefs

• It was once believed that the Olmecs exclusively worshiped the Jaguar as a rain deity.

• Olmec artwork hints that the Olmecs worshiped at least ten different Gods based around the elements that shaped their lifestyles like Rain, Fire, and Corn

• The Olmecs were no strangers to superstitions.• The Olmecs believed in Were-Jaguars and mischievous, trick

playing Dwarfs that lived in water falls.

To the Right: Ancient Olmec artwork honoring the “Rain God”

To the Left: A figuring of the Olmec Ruler, a feline based God.

The Inca

Geography

Trade

Agriculture

WarConquered Tribes:

Acos, Alcavizas, Antas, Araucanians, Atacameno,

Ayanarcas, Ayavari, Campas - Antis, Chunchos, Piros, and

Campas tribes, Canas, Canches, Cañaris, Cavinas, Cayambi, Chancas, Charcas, Chichas,

Chinchas, Chinchay, Chiriguana, Chumpi-vilcas, Chuquisaca, Collas,

Hualla, Huancas, Ichma, Jivaros, Kunsa, Lares, Lupaca, Omasuyu Palta, Pasto, Picunches, Pucasa, Puruha, Purumacha, Runcanas,

Sauseray, Sicuani, Soras, Tanquiha, Wanka, Wari, Yanyos, Ychma,

Yuncas, Yachas

Population

Society and Government

Artwork

Writing System

Religion