1. Word Games
  2. Word of the Day
  3. New Words & Slang
  4. Video
 

Olmec


Olmec

/

Olmec colossal basalt head, c. 1st century BC; in Parque La Venta, Tabasco, Mex. Height 2.4 …—George Holton/Photo Researchers

First elaborate pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica. The Olmec lived on the lowland coast of the Gulf of Mexico in what is now southern Mexico. They developed a wide trading network, their cultural influence spreading north to the Valley of Mexico and south to Central America; later native religions and iconography throughout Mesoamerica have Olmec roots. Their oldest known building site, San Lorenzo, which dates to c. 1150 BC, is remarkable for its colossal stone sculptures of human heads. The dominant motif in Olmec art is the figure of a god that is a hybrid of a jaguar and a human infant. A later Olmec ceremonial centre, La Venta, is marked by great mounds, a narrow plaza, and several other ceremonial enclosures. In the 21st century, inscribed carvings suggestive of later Mayan glyphs also were found at La Venta. Olmec buildings, monuments, and art style all indicate a complex and nonegalitarian society.

This entry comes from Encyclopædia Britannica Concise.
For the full entry on Olmec, visit Britannica.com.

Learn More About OLMEC

Seen & Heard

What made you look up Olmec? Please tell us what you were reading, watching or discussing that led you here.

Test Your Vocabulary

Take Our 10-Question Quiz

Name That Thing

Take our visual vocab quiz

Test Your Knowledge »

True or False?

A quick quiz about stuff worth knowing

Take It Now »

Join Us on FB & Twitter

Get the Word of the Day and More

Facebook | Twitter

Get Our Free Apps

Voice Search, Favorites,
Word of the Day, and More

iPhone | iPad | Android | More