The origin of the Olmecs
The Olmec civilization has undoubted confirmation of its existence in the form of archaeological finds. But the secrets of its origin and death have not been solved by scientists to this day. The very name "Olmecs" is conditionally taken from the historical chronicles of the Aztecs, where with this name there are references to one of the tribes of this civilization. The word "olmek" in translation from the Mayan language means "inhabitant of the country of rubber".
The Olmecs lived in what is now southern and central Mexico. More ancient traces of civilization date back to 1400 BC. e. In the city of San Lorenzo, the remains of a large (possibly main) Olmec settlement have been found. But there were other settlements, the largest of which were in the places of La Venta and Tres Zapotes.
Many of the researchers consider the Olmecs to be the progenitors of other Meso-American civilizations, which is confirmed in the legends of the Indians. It is only known for certain that the Olmecs are one of the earliest cultures of Central America.
Discovered artifacts
From the artifacts found, it is possible to judge that the Olmecs had developed construction, art and trade. Their pyramids, palaces, tombs, temples, mounds, water supply system and huge monuments in the form of stone heads have survived to this day. The first such head was discovered in 1862 near the settlement of Tres-Zapotes, after which a research "boom" began about the Indian culture discovered in the forests of Mexico (although immediately after the discovery it was believed that it was an "African head", or, as it is called and now, "Ethiopian head").
This famous head was completely dug up only in 1939-1940. As it turned out, the height of the stone head is 1.8 m and the circumference is 5.4 m, and this huge monument is carved from a single piece of basalt. To this day, it remains a mystery how such a large piece of rock was delivered to the place where the statue is now located, if the nearest basalt deposit is located tens of kilometers from this place (the Olmecs, according to archaeologists, did not know the wheel and did not have draft animals) …
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Later, another 16 such heads were found, up to 3 m high and weighing up to 20 tons each. Most scientists believe that these heads depicted the leaders of the Olmec tribes. But some of the modern researchers believe that the giant heads could have been made not by the Olmecs, but by representatives of earlier civilizations: for example, the legendary Atlanteans, while the Olmecs themselves were only descendants of these civilizations and the "keepers" of huge statues.
In the first half of the 20th century, archaeologists from Mexico discovered the city of Sin Cabezas, which translates as "Headless". This name was given to the found city by the scientists themselves because of the many decapitated statues located in this ancient settlement. However, some stone giants have survived to our time completely intact. In addition to heads and statues, Olmec sculpture is presented in stone altars and carved steles, as well as in small jade and clay (less often granite) figurines that depict people and animals.
Archaeological expeditions
Various expeditions to find and research artifacts in the first half of the 20th century led to numerous new discoveries, but some evidence of the existence of the Olmec culture was initially mistakenly attributed to the Mayan culture due to the similarity of faces.
Altar of the Olmecs
Archaeologists made their way to the remains of ancient settlements and stone sculptures through impenetrable jungles, tropical rivers and swamps, to climb mountains: the traces of an ancient civilization by that time were already quite cut off from modern settlements and roads. This complicated the research, but over time, on the basis of new information, an increasingly clear picture of the existence of the Olmec civilization was revealed to scientists.
The stylized masks and human figures carved on steles and stone boxes, according to the researchers, are images of the gods revered by the Olmecs. And in the luxurious tomb discovered in La Venta, the ruler of the Olmecs is supposedly buried, who lived 9-10 centuries before the appearance of the Aztecs in these places. In sarcophagi and tombs, archaeologists found jewelry and figurines, unusual tools.
Olmec pyramids
The pyramids may have served as temple complexes. They were arranged not according to the "usual" pyramidal shape, but with a round base, from which several rounded "petals" "departed". The researchers explain this form by the similarity with the volcanic hills that survived the eruptions: the Olmecs believed that the gods of fire lived in the volcanoes, and temple complexes in honor of the same gods were built in the likeness of extinct volcanoes. The Olmec pyramids themselves were made of clay and faced with lime mortar.
What the Olmecs looked like
The appearance of the Olmecs can presumably be restored from the set of sculptures found: Mongoloid-type eyes, a flattened nose, plump, flattened lips. The sculptures have purposefully deformed heads. More accurate information could have been obtained from the remains of the Olmecs found in the tombs, but not a single intact skeleton has survived.
Where did they come from
According to the legends of the Aztecs, the Olmecs arrived in their habitats by boat, from the northern coast. In the place where the city of Panutla is now located, they left their boats and moved at the direction of the gods to the Tamoanchan area (translated from the Mayan language - "the land of rain and fog"), where they founded their civilization. In other Indian legends, the emergence of the Olmec civilization is not explained: it is only said that the Olmecs have lived in those places since ancient times.
Olmec jade figurines
According to the Norwegian explorer Tura Heyerdahl, the Olmec civilization could have been brought to Central America from the Mediterranean and Ancient Egypt. This can be indicated not only by Native American legends, but also by the similarity of Olmec structures, writing, and the art of mummification with similar evidence of the cultures of the Old World. Such an assumption would explain the fact that archaeological research did not reveal signs of the evolution of the Olmec civilization: it seemed to appear in an already flourishing form and just as unexpectedly ended its existence. But this is also just a guess. Many of the scientists are still convinced that civilizations in different parts of the Earth could develop in a similar way, being completely isolated from each other.
The emergence of the Olmec culture is attributed to approximately the second millennium BC. e. Judging by later archaeological research, it could have been developed from the early agricultural cultures of Central America, which gradually evolved from nomadic cultures as a result of changes in natural conditions. The oldest nomadic tribes of South and Central America, according to scientists, came from Asia at a time when there was still a land connection between these continents.
According to paleoanthropologists, representatives of the Negroid race could have entered the territory of Central America during the last ice age. This explains to some extent the facial features reflected in the giant Olmec heads. Other researchers believe that ancient Australians and Europeans could have entered the Meso-American territory by water. Perhaps the Olmec civilization appeared altogether as a result of a mixture of people from different continents.
In 1200-900 BC. e. the main Olmec settlement (at San Lorenzo) was abandoned, possibly as a result of internal rebellion. The "capital" of the Olmec kingdom moved to La Venta, 55 miles to the east, among the marshes of the Tonala River. The Olmec settlement in La Venta existed in 1000-600 BC. e. or in 800-400 BC. e. (according to various research data).
The Olmecs left the eastern parts of their lands around 400 BC. e. Possible reasons include climate change, volcanic eruptions and the capture of some of the Olmecs by representatives of other civilizations. By the last centuries BC. e. archaeologists attribute dates carved by the Olmecs on stone steles and figurines. These are the oldest written dates found in Central America, older than the writing of the Mayan civilization. When Olmec artifacts with dates were found, scientists, after lengthy disputes, came to the conclusion that the Maya borrowed their writing and their calendar from the Olmecs.
It is curious that many stone statues and giant heads belonging to the Olmec civilization were deliberately damaged in ancient times: perhaps by the Olmecs themselves. In addition, some of the statues at the same ancient time were clearly moved from their original places or were also deliberately covered with earth, after which the "grave" was faced with tiles or colored clay.
Some studies suggest that the heyday of the Olmec civilization falls on the 1st century BC. e. - 1st century AD e. All samples of Olmec writing, as well as the most perfect objects of art, are dated to this period. Thus, the Olmecs and Mayans coexisted for some time next to each other.
Researcher Michael Ko believes that the Mayan ancestors once lived on the territory of the Olmecs: when the culture of San Lorenzo and La Venta declined, the bulk of the Olmecs moved to the east and gradually turned into the Mayan civilization. According to other researchers, the Maya and the Olmecs developed simultaneously and, despite the existing family ties between these two civilizations, the Maya cannot be descendants of the Olmecs. The latter assumption is supported by data from the most recent archaeological research. But in this case, where and for what reason did the Olmecs disappear? Scientists have yet to answer this question.
N. Dmitrieva