The MOST AMAZING contributions of the Olmec culture

Image: Slideshare

Every day we use a large number of elements whose origins we do not know. In the vast majority of cases we do not know which culture created or discovered something we use every day on more than one occasion, but on other occasions we can trace its origin to a great culture. An example of this are the contributions of the Olmec culture, which appeared in a large number of regions of Mesoamerica due to its influence as a mother culture. For all this, in this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to talk about contributions of the Olmec culture.

Index

1. Summary of Olmec culture
2. Cultural and religious contributions of the Olmec culture
3. Scientific and technological contributions of the Olmecs

To understand why the Olmec contributions reached so many corners, we must talk about its history, to get to know it better and understand the great achievements that a culture achieved over so many years.

Name "olmec

The Olmec culture can be considered as the first great civilization in Mesoamerican historyand pre-Columbian, since although at that time there had been different tribes, none had managed to unite so many people within similar cultural canons. Being the first great culture, it is also known as the mother culture, since all later peoples in the area have been influenced by the Olmecs.

We have evidence of the existence of the Olmecs from 1200 a. C. until 400 a. C., that is, they inhabited southern Mexico during the so-called Formative Period of Mesoamerica. The dimensions of its domain were around 20,000 km2, and were included between the current towns of Tabasco and Veracruz.

With all this we can understand the great historical importance, and the area of ​​influence. Thanks to this, we understand better why the Olmec contributions passed to numerous cultures in the area, until they reached us on many occasions.

Image: culturaolmeca.com

The great breadth of contributions of the Olmec culture means that we can divide them into different groups, depending on the kind of contribution we are talking about. Some of the greatest influences of Mesoamerican cultures are born from Olmec art, culture and religion, being some of the elements that had the most weight in the Mayans and Aztecs.

Some examples of the cultural contributions of the Olmecs are the following:

Sculptures

One of the most representative contributions of the Olmecs are the great colossal heads that we can find in most of its area of ​​influence. It is not known with certainty what the function of these giant heads was, but it is thought that they were representations of political and military leaders of the time. The method of construction of these heads would not pass as such to other cultures of Mesoamerica, but the custom of making stone representations of their leaders.

Chocolate

Cocoa was a very important element in this civilization, the beans being even used as a kind of currency. The Olmecs were the first civilization to produce cocoa, influencing the consumption of this food in later cultures.

Writing

The current writings are the result of the evolution of many primitive systems, since the writing evolves through the centuries. The Olmec writing was based on the use of numerous symbols that represented different aspects of nature, and that are the origin of the Mesoamerican writing.

Pyramids

One of the best known artistic representations of Mesoamerican culture are the pyramids, which have their origin in the Olmec culture. The pyramids of this culture were not as spectacular as those that the Mayans and Aztecs would later make, but They are the mothers of these, so we can say that without the Olmec culture the famous pyramids would not exist Aztecs.

Ball game

The Olmecs performed a kind of sport based on the game with a rubber ball, being a characteristic activity of all Mesoamerican peoples later. It was a sport based on entertainment, but it also had a kind of religious function.

Religion

Religion is something that can be influenced by numerous issues, not surprising that the religion of a culture has great similarities with that of previous civilizations. For all this, the Olmec religion is very important, since many of the elements that we find in it passed to other mythologies such as the Aztec or Mayan. An example would be animal men, and the human sacrifices to the gods.

Crafts

Another contribution of the Olmec culture is crafts. One of the most important elements of Mesoamerican culture was the jade, since it was thought that it was the stone of creation, being more valued than precious stones. Olmec artisans were the first to use this type of material for carve religious figures, a tradition that was maintained in later cultures, and that served as a form of commerce.

Image: Olmec culture

To conclude this lesson on the contributions of the Olmec culture, we must talk about non-cultural or religious contributions, talking about their diet or some of their inventions.

Calendar

The Olmec calendar was the first to use astronomy to mark the passage of time, which was continued by other Mesoamerican cultures. It was based on two years, one of 365 days and another from 260, creating a cycle which was thought that when the Olmec culture ended, it would disappear. To create the calendar they used the number 0, so it is often thought that the Olmecs created this figure.

Epigraphy

Another of the contributions of the Olmec culture is epigraphy, the science that is responsible for studying ancient writings made on hard supports. In the case of the Olmec contributions we use the word epigraphy to refer to the symbol system used to express themselves by the Olmecs, which would later take other cultures such as the Mayan.

farming

The Olmecs laid the foundations for agriculture that would be characteristic of later Mesoamerican civilizations. It was they who established the three main products of agriculture in the area, these being corn, squash and beans.

Eraser

One of the main characteristics of the Olmecs was the use of rubber, being an elastic element made by the sap of the trees, being very similar to today's rubber. One of the greatest examples of the use of rubber was the balls made of this material used in the Mesoamerican ball game.

Compass

The Olmecs are thought to have been the first culture in the world to use an instrument that functioned like compasses. The use of this primitive compass, which consisted of a magnetic bar, was necessary to have the surrounding villages located.

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