OLMEC writing: hieroglyphs and epi-Olmec

The writing of the Olmecs was a system of hieroglyphics and the so-called Epi-Olmec writing.. In unProfesor we analyze both types of writing from one of the most important cultures of pre-Columbian Latin America.

Mesoamerican cultures have a mother culture, being the one from which its main elements come, a kind of ancestor culture of important civilizations such as the Maya or the Aztec; This mother culture is the Olmec. Being the ancestor of most Mesoamerican cultures, it is very relevant to comment on its writing, since in it we can find the origin of important languages like Nahuatl. For all these reasons, in this lesson from a Teacher we must talk about What was the writing of the Olmecs like?.

Index

1. What is the culture of the Olmecs like?
2. Olmec writing: hieroglyphics
3. Epi-Olmec script

The olmecs were an American culture located in the cultural region of Mesoamerica from 1200 B.C. c. until 400 a. c,

For all this, it is considered that The Olmec culture is the mother culture of the Mesoamerican region., being therefore, the civilization from which all the elements that define the cultures of this region are born. Currently, it is considered quite possible that the Olmec culture influenced not only Mesoamerican cultures, but also other American regions outside this area.

Due to the sources we currently have, it is thought that the zone of greatest influence of the Olmecs was in the Gulf of Mexico, with an area close to 20,000 km2. It is thought that this region is where we can currently find states like Tabasco or Veracruz.

In unProfesor we discover what were the Main contributions of the Olmecs.

There are not many sources that help us understand what the Olmec script was, but most historians consider that the most likely possibility was that it was a writing made up of hieroglyphics, similar to that existing in some western regions at the time. These hieroglyphs were not as we think, but rather had forms quite different from those to which we are accustomed, being very similar to glyphs that can be found in ancient Mesoamerican constructions.

There are numerous samples of glyphs individual ones that show us the possible existence of hieroglyphics, but the largest source is that of the Cascajal block, a piece of stone found in 1999. This block showed 30 different symbols, some of which were repeated, so we can see 62 inscriptions on the stone. These symbols had never been seen before, so scholars considered it to be the possible writing of the Olmecs.

The block dates back 2,900 years, so it could be said that It was the first American writing system. ahead of any system on the continent. It is thought that the Olmecs could have used this system and that the rest of the towns were imitating and evolving, as it can be shown that some Maya glyphs have strong resemblances to the glyphs of the block.

We have no other sources that speak of Olmec hieroglyphics, but the existence of the glyphs and the Cascajal block makes that the most reasonable version is that the traditional writing system of the Olmecs was a system with hieroglyphics. This would also be related to what was happening in the West, since it is usual that the first populations will use a writing system based on hieroglyphs as it is simpler than one based on syllables or letters.

Image: World cultures

To continue with this lesson on what Olmec writing was like, we must talk about the Epi-Olmec or Isthmian script being the other possible writing system that the Olmecs would have used, especially because it has many similarities with later writings such as the Maya.

The Epi-Olmec or Isthmic script is a Mesoamerican writing system based on the systems of syllabaries and logograms. Its use was centralized in the area of ​​the Gulf of Mexico between the years 500 B.C. c. and the 500 d. c., so I could understand that it was the writing system of both the Olmecs and the later peoples who inhabited the region.

It is thought that Epi-Olmec script is the ancestor of all Mesoamerican writing systems, this being the reason why it has common characteristics with other writing systems such as that of the Mayans or the Aztecs. Formerly, it was thought that the Mesoamerican regions did not have writing, but today we know that they had many different systems and all seem to be born from the Epi-Olmec system.

The system was very similar to the Maya, with a series of characters to represent logos and another set to represent a series of syllables that together make up words. This system appears to be a evolution of olmec glyphs, since the logos are similar, so it could be the next phase in the cultural growth of this civilization. Other theories speak of the fact that there was no type of relationship between the different logos, but that since they were representations of elements of nature it was logical that they would bear a similarity.

Even with all this, many experts consider that this writing system was not typical of the Olmecs, but that it belonged to their successors, known as epiolmecs and that it is assumed that they were a different people from the Olmecs although with a series of common characteristics among themselves.

If you want to read more articles similar to What was the writing of the Olmecs like?, we recommend that you enter our category of History.

• Orozco, A. m. g. THE POSSIBLE OLMEC WRITING.
• Marin, d. F. m. Origins of writing in Mesoamerica: A review of the formal features, interregional connections, and linguistic affiliations of Olmec writing.
• Suarez, T. Q. (2012). The Isthmian or Epi-Olmec script as an antecedent of the Maya: a historical review.

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