All About

S Quick P

Description

This book, filled with amazing facts and photographs, gives an in-depth account of what life was like for the ancient Olmec who lived in Mesoamerica. It explains how religion influenced their beliefs and everyday lives and draws upon archaeology and research to present evidence that supports present ideas. In addition to information on mythology, religion and gods it covers the topics of society, government, trade, industry, homes, farming, science, mathematics, writing, sculpture and artwork.The 'All About' series is an educational collection of books by P S Quick, and is targeted to interest children of 9 to 12+ but will fascinate readers of all ages. At the end of each book there is a quiz section for the reader, featuring 150 questions and answers.

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 25 mai 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785385216
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Title Page
ALL ABOUT
Obscure Olmecs
P S Quick



Publisher Information
Published in 2016 by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
The right of P S Quick to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998
Copyright © 2016 P S Quick
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Picture Credits
The Olmec Heartland courtesy of Madman2001
Olmec Jaguar Head from San Lorenzo courtesy of Leobourd
La Venta Mosaic courtesy of Ruben Charles
Text on Cascajal Block courtesy of Peteforsyth
Altar 4 at La Venta courtesy of Ruben Charles
La Venta Feathered Serpent courtesy of Delange
Izapa Stela showing Tree of Life courtesy of Madman2001



Introduction
This book, filled with amazing facts and photographs, gives an in-depth account of what life was like for the ancient Olmec who lived in Mesoamerica. It explains how religion influenced their beliefs and everyday lives and draws upon archaeology and research to present evidence that supports present ideas.
In addition to information on mythology, religion and gods it covers the topics of society, government, trade, industry, homes, farming, science, mathematics, writing, sculpture and artwork.
The ‘All About’ series is an educational collection of books by P S Quick, and is targeted to interest children of 9 to 12+ but will fascinate readers of all ages. At the end of each book there is a quiz section for the reader, featuring 150 questions and answers.



Early Civilizations in Mesoamerica
Some of the world’s greatest and most fascinating ancient civilizations were located in Mesoamerica and Peru yet they are shrouded in mystery as we know less about them than those in other parts of the world. They include the Olmec, Maya, Aztecs and Incas.
Mesoamerica is the area in Central America that covers the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and the northern part of Costa Rica. Evidence shows that people lived in this area since 2500 BC but the Olmec were the first civilization to become established, laying the foundations for the other civilizations that followed.
Although today we refer to these people as the Olmec we do not know what they called themselves. Olmec, translated as rubber people , was a word used by the Aztecs to describe a later unrelated society who produced latex from a tree native to the region and lived in the land of Olman. Although more appropriate names have been suggested Olmec has continued to be used.



Early Settlements
The Olmec civilization was believed to have developed without influence from other cultures and prospered from around 1200 BC until 400 BC in a time known as Pre-Classical Mesoamerica. Settlements were located mainly around the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the modern day states of Tabasco and Veracruz.
The land where they lived extended from the volcanic Tuxtlas Mountains of the Gulf Coast in the west to the lowlands of Chontalpa, Tabasco in the east. It stretched further south-east than the later Aztec empire. The area is fed by the Coatzacoalcos River and its tributaries. The fertile alluvial soil, fresh water and rivers to transport goods provided an ideal location for this civilization to flourish.
The swampy area on the coastal plains of Tabasco and southern Veracruz is often referred to as the Olmec Heartland because there is a large concentration of Olmec monuments here as well as the most important Olmec sites. So far over one hundred and seventy monuments have been found which include seventeen colossal stone heads for which the Olmec are so famous.
The earliest settlement, dated to 1150 BC, was on a river island and later named by archaeologists as San Lorenzo. It grew to be the largest and most influential city of its time. Other important centres include La Venta, Tres Zapotes and Laguna de los Cerros.


The Olmec Heartland
The first evidence of the Olmec people was found by a farmer when he dug up a gigantic head that was two metres tall. Most of our knowledge comes from the monuments and artefacts discovered but very little evidence exists that explains the Olmec’s ethnic origins and settlements .
Artefacts found such as figures with pointed beards, sculptures with thick lipped Negroid features, facial scaring bearing similarities to tribal marks and Ethiopian style braided hair have suggested to some archaeologists that the Olmec were a multi-cultural society influenced by different cultures from the Pacific, Atlantic and Africa.
Originally it was thought that the Olmec had come across to Mesoamerica in boats from West Africa but now many people believe that mounting evidence shows they came from China during the time of the Xia dynasty. Their love of jade, the similarity between Xia and Olmec sacrifice and also their writing suggests this might be so.
It is believed they came across the Bering Straits into the Americas and travelled down the western coast of Canada and into the United States through California. The Canadian Tsimshian Indian masks as well as written accounts by Californian Indians offer possible evidence that this was the route they took. However, these are still only theories and no-one knows for sure.
Although the Olmec are thought to have been the first in Mesoamerica to have a written language no books have been found and the only writing has been engravings on stone. With few continuous scripts available their language has not yet been fully deciphered .
Egyptian hieroglyphics were eventually deciphered after the discovery of the Rosetta stone and in recent years the Maya code has also been cracked. The achievement of understanding the Maya code is helping researchers to decipher the inscriptions on Olmec sculptures and monuments. Although much information about Olmec culture has been lost with the passage of time it may be that with new discoveries mysteries will be solved.



Cities
The Olmec were the first Mesoamerican culture to build small cities. At present there is no evidence of their original names. The first cities began to appear around 1200 BC and soon the Olmec civilization grew in the urban centres of what we now call San Lorenzo, La Venta, Laguna de los Cerros, Tres Zapotes and Las Limas. Archaeologists have found they were important cultural, religious and political centres that were laid out symmetrically.
San Lorenzo
Around 1200 BC San Lorenzo became the ceremonial centre of the Olmec Civilization and was its first great city. Located in the Veracruz State in a largely agricultural area without any city walls it was perfectly placed for trading yet free from any danger of flooding. This site was originally an island in the middle of the Coatzacoalcos River but much of the settlement was built upon the high ridge that runs through the centre and was easily defended.
The home of the ruling classes was situated on the western side of the ridge and known as the Royal Compound. The ruins of the Red Palace have been found here. Compressed earth was used to construct the walls and floors of the palace then plastered with sand coloured with the mineral hematite. The roof was supported with basalt columns that were four meters tall and bentonite blocks were used to pave the floors . The Stirling Acropolis that is surrounded by a pyramid and ball court is believed to have been the sacred residence.


Olmec Jaguar Head from San Lorenzo
An elaborate drainage system consisting of a buried covered channel of stones acting as a pipe to provide drinking water for the citizens has been found. Some archaeologists suggest the water could have been used for ritual purposes. There were several artificial pits known as lagunas as well as a number of mound structures with causeways that may have been used as landing jetties for unloading goods from canoes.
Evidence of what appears to be organised destruction in San Lorenzo is dated to around 900 BC. The whole centre was destroyed and monuments defaced. It is not known if this was due to enemy invasion or an uprising within the city. Some historians suggest environmental changes such as the weather or the river changing course could have been the reason. A change in climate would have affected the production of crops as well as the hunting and fishing upon which the people depended to live.
The fact that many sculptures were left unfinished and that later sculptures were carved using earlier ones suggests to some historians that rival tribes may have prevented the inhabitants from acquiring new resources. At this time La Venta rose in prominence to become the new Olmec capital.
La Venta
The site of La Venta is located near the border of the state of Veracruz and to the north west of the state of Tabasco. It is one of the four most important Olmec sites known to date. Built on a high sandy ridge in the middle of a huge coastal swamp alongside the Palma River the city was an important political and cultural centre between 900 BC and 400 BC.
At its peak La Venta became the Olmec’s greatest city and grandest ceremonial centre. It was a settlement where thousands worked on the land and fished as well as laboured moving huge blocks of stone to workshops