La civilizacion olmeca

THE OLMEC CIVILIZATION
By: Daniela Carvajal 10 C

The Olmec people were the first Mesoamerican civilization and where around, from 1400 BCE to about 400 BCE. They were situated in Mexico andNorthern Central America, which are now Veracruz, Tabasco and the Pacific coast of Central America. The region where they lived in has a lot of mountains which broke regions into little environments. Somehowthese environment boundaries let to trade and cultural exchange between societies.
The Olmec civilization lived on very fertile soil which led to increasing their food sources. They invented specialways to exploit plants, animals and minerals like quartz and jade. These people’s values were based on agriculture. They cultivated corn, beans, squash etc. They also depended on fishing and huntingThe Olmec where very religious people. They also began a political system. Dig irrigation systems, raise fields in wetlands and large scale religious and civic buildings were built. Olmec’s buildingwhere not that complex but hag the same general idea that the best and bigger houses where on higher up lands. This houses where often used to house important people or for religious purposes. All thebuilding had great detail. They were decorated with carvings of serpents, condors and jaguars. Which were the most significant animals for the Olmec civilization. The JAGUAR-MAN was their god; it isthought that missionaries brought this gospel with them as they traveled up and down the cost preaching.
The most famous characteristic of the Olmec civilization is the colossal heads. They arebelieved to be masks of kings and rulers. This heads were carved from one single rock boulder or volcanic rocks. The most known heads are the Tres Zapotes heads, found in the summit of Cerro el Vegia andthe San Lorenzo and La Venta Heads. This is miles and miles apart. To move one of these rocks required the effort of approximately 1500 people for 3 months. It is a true mystery where this heads came…