Tres Zapotes

civilization of the Mesoamerica that formed the social complexity or chiefdom of 2-tiered settlement hierarchy with large villages. There are three important sites of the Olmec civilization, which are, San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Zapotes. Those are not the size of the city, but they are classified to be just monumental centers according to the less density of population. Even if the Olmec got interacted with other areas of Mesoamerica through trading and exchange of the iron ore mirrors, obsidians, and ideas that were found in other parts of Mesoamerica, it was common similar to the old world. However, the emergence of the rulership is so interesting and controversial for archaeologists to research. Based on the archaeological records in San Lorenzo site located the Gulf Coast Levee settlement, archaeologist found Olmec Colossal Heads that were built to portray the face of rulers, and there are many different faces. The colossal heads were a dense-heavy rock. Such a rock can be found approximately a hundred miles far from San Lorenzo. It might basically be hard to carry the rock to there. This means the rulers must have the power to organize labors to transport the rock back to San Lorenzo. Moreover, the archaeological evidences in La Venta and Tres Zapotes also support the investigation that the Olmec rulers used the ideologies and religious beliefs to control people. Such ritual materials contain Were-Jaguar sculpture, Jaguar-Mask Serpentine, cache of carved Jade…

Since archaeology developed as an academic discipline, scholars have devoted substantial attention to identifying the first civilizations; one prominent area of debate concerns how and when civilization initially ascended in Mesoamerica – much of modern day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador (Blomster et al. 2005). Approximately 3000 years ago, Mexico’s Gulf Coast was inhabited by the Olmec – an archaeological culture that differs from a conventional culture as it is a…

Objective Description In the year 2000, the American Museum of Natural History posted an essay as an online resource, Profile: Georges Lemaître, Father of the Big Bang. An excerpt from Cosmic Horizons: Astronomy at the Cutting Edge. It was edited by Steven Soter and Neil deGrasse Tyson. The profile begins with a simple explanation of the expanding universe and how Georges Lemaître published his mathematical findings that today we know as the Big Bang theory. Soter and deGrasse Tyson provide…

no longer considered a symbol of the elite Olmec culture. The most important center of this Epi-Olmec culnd some fifty other monumental stone sculpture. Mesoamericans made the most impactful contribution in the creation of sophisticated writing and the calendrical system. This is where the 365 day calendar system evolved from the 260 day cycle as both systems appear in ancient inscriptions. The 260 day calendar was not subdivided into weeks or months as what we have today but it is divided in…

The Colossal Heads also appear to be wearing helmets, something that has puzzled researchers ever since they were discovered. The first Olmec head was discovered at Tres Zapotes where at the same time 'Stelae C' was discovered. Markings on Stelae C bear the Olmec calendar long count date which converts to 31 BC. This date on the stelae gives us a probable date for the placement of the Colossal Head. More gigantic heads like the one at Tres Zapotes, in addition to a number of massive stone…

this civilization based their art on ceremonies, to praise a leader, or to simply illustrate the daily routines the Olmec people practiced. 
 LIFE AT SAN LORENZO 
 Geographically, the Olmec Civilization is situated in between the two Mexican states, Tabasco and Veracruz along the Gulf Coast of Mexico. The weather and environment can be described as tropical with fertile land, one of the reasons why vegetation and the culture remained strong (Cyphers 1996). Furthermore, there are three main…

THE OLMECS AND THEİR HİSTORY Olmecs we a powerful civilisation that had a great history. The Olmecs were the first civilisation in Mexico following a progressive development in Soconusco. “Olmecs lived in tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the today states of Veracruz and Tabasco. Olmec civilisation prospered in Pre-Classical Mesoamerica from 1200 BCE to 400 BCE.” And it’s generally considered as the ancestor of all subsequent Mesoamerican cultures such as Mayan and Aztec. While…

I. ARCHITECTURE The Maya culture used architecture as a way to represent power. This culture achieved this representation by the creation and construction of massive monuments. Besides showing power, the Maya architecture had as a main objective to show the respect and passion to their religion, that is to say, that these enormous monuments were sacred for them, in other words, these constructions were seen as gifts from their gods. The Maya received inspiration from the Olmec and the…

writing that was later used or adapted by other Mesoamerican societies including the Aztecs. The Olmecs followed a 260 day cycle (13 numbers and 20 glyphs). It is not certain whether they invented it or adapted it to suit their needs from an earlier culture. It is most certain that they used a solar year calendar and that they more than likely invented the “Long count” during their life time. Olmec writing and calendrical can be tracked back to La Venta in 640BC. Scribes during this period kept…