Across the ages there have been many famous civilizations and empires, some like the Romans and more recently British have conquered most of the known world whilst others such as the Ancient Greeks and Egyptians have left behind legacies and great monuments, mysteries for historians to unravel. However some Ancient peoples are not as well known as they perhaps should be; the Olmec Civilization was the first sign of organised life in Mexico and Central America and seemed to flourish for some 2000 years! They are most known for their incredible sculptures and works of art but these were not even identified as theirs until the early 20th Century in Columbia. I doubt you’ve heard of the Olmecs, I certainly hadn’t until recently, so sit back and read about an entire Ancient civilization that time almost forgot.
Some historians argue that the Olmec people did not really take dominance over Mexico and Central America until about 1600 BC but their influence can be seen as early as 2500 BC even if they were not perhaps the leading tribe. Mostly known for their artwork, the Olmec people created great colossal heads, statues of people and even masks made of precious gems. The fact that the Olmecs could get their hands on Emeralds to craft some of these suggests that they could either travel or had an elaborate trading system as their emeralds came from near Guatemala, not Mexico or Columbia. If they did have boats for travelling or even had a good trading system this would place them amongst some of the early genius peoples such as the Egyptians who somewhat faded in power around the time the Olmecs prospered. In fact if are to date the Olmec Empire between about 2500 BC and 400 BC then it seems they were preceded by the Egyptians and succeeded by the Greek and then also the early Romans, arguably the three greatest Ancient civilizations.
The genius of this ancient people however goes beyond art. It seems that they were the first people in the western hemisphere to create a method of writing language and also developed a ‘long calendar’ which the Mayans, historians believe, then adopted. Therefore it was not the Mayans but rather the Olmecs who created a scare by simply ending their calendar in the year 2012! It is also possible that they created the first ball sport on a court (almost like a very early form of basketball) that we simply know as the Mesoamerican ballgame. Unfortunately because we have only fragments from the Olmec civilization much of our theories and dating of objects cannot be incredibly precise but thanks to modern archaeological tools we can date them to at least the nearest century if not decade.
The Olmec people seemed to have a chief or king appointed by a higher power (one of their deities or Gods) and sacrificed to him and the Gods regularly in blood rituals. He would have sat upon his throne atop each tribal town’s Pyramidal structure and sacrifices would be carried up the stairs as we have seen in later Aztec society. Similarly to the Aztecs and Incas and as the name suggests this was literally a human sacrifice, but although this may seem primitive, the social structure, architecture and general organisation of this Ancient people so removed from the ‘social hub of Ancient Europe’ is incredible. It is unfortunate that we cannot know more about them, but the Olmecs may be, we believe, the first people to have inhabited the Americas (if you count their influence as beginning in 2500 BC) and yet so little is known about them! Yet more proof that History is simply incredible.
IMAGE 1: http://konekrusoskronos.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/el-tajin-ruins-the-nichos-pyramid-mexico.jpg - An Olmec Pyramid.
IMAGE 2: http://www.ancientorigins.net/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/olmecs.jpg?itok=uDmwBeB3 – An Olmec ‘Colossal Head’,
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