Ancient Olmecs. legendary civilization

As a civilization, the Olmecs began about three thousand years ago. Archaeological finds, of course, confirm their existence, however, scientists have not yet unraveled the secrets of either their origin or death. The Olmecs lived on the modern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It is believed that this Indian empire was the earliest culture of Central America. Legends find confirmation that the Olmecs were the progenitors of other Meso-American civilizations.

Culture of ancient civilization

Translated from the Mayan language, from the historical chronicles of which the name "Olmec" is taken, it literally means "inhabitants of the country of rubber."

For several hundred years, this civilization has developed scientific knowledge. Having existed for a short time, they were able to develop science to unprecedented heights. Her inventions include the Olmec calendar based on unique ideas about mathematics and astronomy. It was built on the basis of the cyclical nature of the universe, including long epochs of 5000 years, as well as knowledge about the cycles of other planets, the length of the day and year. He was the prototype of the famous Mayan calendar, which also interpreted astronomical phenomena. Unfortunately, the richest cultural and mythological heritage, the crown of which is considered to be, has practically not been preserved: the Olmecs switched from worshiping various totemic animals to worshiping gods - humanoid images that are the embodiment of the forces of nature.

Giant stone heads of people with Negroid features and weighing 30 tons each have been discovered since 1930. Carved from solid basalt, they have perfect proportions, are processed with the highest precision and have carefully drawn facial features. The sculptures rest on a platform of raw stone layers. Scientists in the process of research came to the conclusion that the heads were carved around 1500 BC, and possibly earlier. Experts say that these are images of idols, the memory of the great masters of that time, which was created by the Olmec civilization. The Olmecs were equal and followed the established order of further Indian tribes.

However, as already mentioned, there is no evidence of the evolution of this mysterious civilization: any drawings, records, or just things. The conclusion suggests itself that this civilization appeared out of nowhere fully developed. Scientists literally bit by bit search for and try to structure information about their social organization, mythology, rituals. Still, it was possible to discover that the Olmecs were an agricultural civilization, like all later cultures of Ancient America. Also, their areas of activity were fishing and agriculture, which allowed them to flourish. Time and history have mercilessly destroyed Indian heritage. Neither linguistic nor ethnicity Olmecs, only hypotheses. The architectural structures found and studied indicate that the Olmecs were remarkable engineers.

Jaguar cult

It is believed that it was the representatives of this civilization who first began to worship the jaguar. Later, this cult is also found among other ancient civilizations of both Central and North and South America. The jaguar was revered as the patron saint of agriculture, believing that he unwittingly contributed to the preservation of crops, scaring away other animals that prefer a plant-based diet. Among the ancient peoples, this predator was considered the master of the universe, and, accordingly, was deified. cult dedicated to it supreme deity, has become a completely new mythological system. The Olmecs represented all their gods in the form of a jaguar. This animal personified strength, royalty and independence, became fertility and natural phenomena and, importantly, was a guide to the world, as it led a predominantly nocturnal lifestyle.

The Olmecs themselves equated themselves with the jaguar, according to the legend of the union of the deity jaguar with an earthly woman. The giant sculptures depicted an image in which there were both the features of a ferocious jaguar and the features of a crying child.

There is a legend that has survived to this day about the appearance of the first jaguars. In one village there lived a woman and she had two sons. One of them was a good hunter, the other was cunning and enterprising. So he made a mask of a ferocious animal, painted it and began to hunt in it. Then, bringing the prey to the hut, he took off his mask and plunged an arrow into the carcass. Another brother decided to find out what was the matter. Followed and did all the same, and then decided to go through the village, instilling fear in its inhabitants. And then the unbelievable happened - the mask grew to him. The brother-hunter became furious and tore to pieces all the inhabitants of the village, except for his mother. She persuaded him to leave to live in the forest. This son became the ancestor of other jaguars, which sometimes could turn into people and back. the gods who ruled over people and jaguars were also common.

Also, the were-jaguar was represented as a deity of rain, one of the most famous gods of that time. Shamans used the appearance of the jaguar in totems. It was believed that the totem symbolizes the forest. Not all shamans obeyed such a totem. Only a strong and powerful shaman could transform into an animal in a ritual dance and had the ability to control it. Also, shamans were able to cure diseases, bring good luck on the hunt and even predict the future. Since those ancient times, jaguar people have been simply terribly afraid. A mysterious cult associated with a possible reincarnation appeared, the followers of which were cruelly branded with a special needle, the marks from it looked like marks from the claws of an animal.

In some way, another legend was connected with the jaguar. In one of the tribes, a young unmarried girl became pregnant in a completely miraculous way. The elders of the tribe did not believe in the miracle and were looking for someone who should be punished for seduction. However, the oldest and wisest elder confirmed the miraculous conception from heaven itself - a lightning strike. Everyone began to look forward to the birth of the sacred children. But one day a misfortune happened, a jaguar attacked the girl and tore her apart, but the children had time to be born, they fell into the river. The grandmother of the Jaguars, and it was she, found the babies and raised them in atonement for having killed their mother. She named those extraordinary kids the Sun and. The children grew up and became the founders of a new tribe - the Olmecs appeared.

Civilization has disappeared over time, its mythological images swallowed by the Maya - the next great civilization. They have a jaguar - the deity became the patron of war and hunting. The royal Mayan dynasties considered this animal a sacred ancestor. Their most popular names were Jaguar Cedar, Jaguar Night, Dark Jaguar. The chiefs wore the skins of jaguars as the supreme power, and helmets in the shape of the heads of this beast. Representatives of another powerful civilization - the Aztecs believed that the first of the four eras of the universe was the era of jaguars, who exterminated the giants who inhabited the earth at that time. There were also temples dedicated to the Jaguar god, whose spotted skin resembled a celestial star pattern.

In the mythology of the Olmecs, there were also other motives - the acquisition of maize, here God is the benefactor of mankind, extracts maize grains hidden in the mountains. A motif is developed about the confrontation between the old god and the deity of maize.

Unfortunately, the theory that the Olmecs are a structural civilization is not actually confirmed, but is a statement of the conjectures of specialists. But even according to the few data that have come down to us after thousands of years, it can be assumed that this civilization did not disappear without a trace - its legacy was assimilated and absorbed by the subsequent great Mayan and Aztec civilizations.

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legendary civilization. Olmecs

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As a civilization, the Olmecs began about three thousand years ago. Archaeological finds, of course, confirm their existence, however, scientists have not yet unraveled the secrets of either their origin or death. The Olmecs lived on the modern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It is believed that this Indian empire was the earliest culture of Central America. In legends, they find confirmation that the Olmecs were the progenitors of others ...

Olmecs

(Olmec), a people historically inhabiting the hot and humid region of the Gulf of Mexico, their name has been extended to the Preclassic civilization that flourished in Southern Veracruz and neighboring areas of Tabasco around 1200 BC. O. were skilled stone carvers, their products are extremely diverse - from ten-foot basalt heads (photo 67) to small jadeite figures, in which the features of a human being (with a child's face) and a jaguar (Fig. 110) merge. This creature, apparently, was the predecessor of the long-lipped god Izapa and the god of rain among the Maya and other peoples of Mexico (Tlaloc). Carving of this style is found almost throughout Mexico and south to El Salvador and Costa Rica. Olmec figurines and pottery have been found at various sites in Central Mexico (Tlatilco). Significant links can be traced to the Oaxacan cultures that preceded the construction of Monte Alban. O. civilization had a significant formative influence on the entire Mesoamerican culture. On the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the agricultural population erected ceremonial centers (La Venta), for which tons of serpentine and basalt were imported. The hieroglyphs of O. have not yet been read, but it is assumed that Maya hieroglyphs developed on their basis. It is possible that O. invented a system of long counting for fixing dates, since the stele "C" from Tres Zapotes has on one side the date 31 BC, recorded in this system, and on the back - a jaguar mask, made in manner of Olmec art, although with a manifestation of late influence (Izapa). It should be borne in mind that the stele belongs to a later, post-Olmec period. The golden age of O. refers to the beginning of the 1st millennium BC, the end of the Olmec civilization occurs between 600 and 400, when the main centers are destroyed or abandoned.

Photo 67. Stone head (Olmec colossus).

Rice. 110. Olmec stone figurines.

Archaeological dictionary. - M.: Progress. Warwick Bray, David Trump. Translation from English by G.A. Nikolaev. 1990 .

See what "Olmec" is in other dictionaries:

Olmecs- the conditional name of the people who lived on the territory of the modern Mexican states of Veracruz, Tabasco, Guerrero in the XIV III centuries. BC e. The heyday of the Olmec culture falls on the XII-V centuries. BC e.; from the 7th century BC e. had a strong influence on... Art Encyclopedia

Olmecs- (Olmecs), ancient. a group of Indian tribes that inhabited the south. coast of the Gulf of Mexico; the first in Mesoamerica, Mexico and sowing. parts of the Center. America began to build religious buildings, where they installed huge stones. heads carved from... The World History

Olmecs- This article or section needs to be revised. Please improve the article in accordance with the rules for writing articles. Olmec tribe name ... Wikipedia

Olmecs- (Olmec) Olmec, 1) name. pre-Columbian Indians who inhabited the areas of Veracruz and west. Tabasco on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in 1200100. BC, who founded perhaps the first ancient civilization in America. Their sculptures are known, ... ... Countries of the world. Dictionary

Olmecs- Stone head from San Lorenzo. Olmec culture. Olmecs (olmecas), an Indian people who lived on the territory of the modern Mexican states of Veracruz, Tabasco, Guerrero in the XIV III centuries. BC e. The name is given conditionally, by the name of a small group of tribes, ... ... Encyclopedic reference book "Latin America"

La Venta (Olmec)- This term has other meanings, see La Venta. Coordinates: 18°06′19″ s. sh. 94°01′54″ W  / 18.105278° N sh. 94.031667° W d ... Wikipedia

Mesoamerican chronology- Mesoamerican chronology is the accepted methodology for describing the history of the pre-Columbian civilizations of Mesoamerica in terms of named eras and periods, from the earliest evidence of human settlement to the early colonial period ... Wikipedia

Olmec culture - archaeological culture, common in the territory of the modern Mexican states of Veracruz, Tabasco, Guerrero. Belonged to an unknown Indian people. The name is given conditionally, by the name of a small group of tribes that lived in this territory later ... Wikipedia

Pre-Columbian ruins of Mexico- The list of pre-Columbian ruins in Mexico does not include the many ruins of the Mayan civilization that are listed separately. Since the quantity archaeological sites the pre-Columbian era in Mexico is several thousand every year ... ... Wikipedia

Esteban, son of the sun- Mysterious Cities of Gold 太陽の子エステバン ... Wikipedia

Books

• Ancient civilizations, Morris N., Connolly S.. In ancient Asia and America, the most mysterious cultures originate, which today amaze the imagination with the level of development and exotic customs. About 7000 BC. e. west of the Indus River...

Ecology of knowledge: All these heads are carved from solid blocks of basalt. The smallest have a height of 1.5 m, the largest - about 3.5 m. Most of the Olmec heads are about 2 m. Accordingly, the weight of these huge sculptures ranges from 10 to 35 tons!

All these heads are carved from solid blocks of basalt. The smallest have a height of 1.5 m, the largest - about 3.5 m. Most of the Olmec heads are about 2 m. Accordingly, the weight of these huge sculptures ranges from 10 to 35 tons!

When looking at the heads, many questions immediately arise, to which the omniscient science wants to get a clear answer. The facial features of each of the 17 giant heads are not individual and they all have one common feature- characteristic negroid signs. Where did the Negroes come from in pre-Columbian America, if, according to official science, there could not have been any contacts between Africa and America before Columbus? And the Olmecs themselves did not look like blacks at all, which follows from numerous other figurines and figurines. And only these 17 heads are endowed with Negroid features.

With what tools in the absence of metal (again, according to official version) with such precision and detail was processed basalt, one of the most durable stones from which the heads are made? Is it another stone?

How were multi-ton blocks, some up to 35 tons in weight, delivered to the processing site 90 km from their place of extraction through the jungle over rough terrain? Despite the fact that (according to the same version) the Olmecs did not know the wheels (by the way, it has already been proven that they knew).

Why make them so big? After all, the Olmecs have many other sculptures, including heads, of quite normal size and completely American (Indian) appearance. And only these 17 black faces are an exception. Why are they so honored? Or is it life size?Now let's try to answer these questions...

The Olmec civilization is considered the first, "mother" civilization of Mexico. Like all other first civilizations, it arises immediately and in a “ready form”: with developed hieroglyphic writing, an accurate calendar, canonized art, and developed architecture. According to the ideas of modern researchers, the Olmec civilization arose around the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. and lasted for about a thousand years. The main centers of this culture were located in the coastal zone of the Gulf of Mexico in the territory of the modern states of Tobasco and Veracruz. But the cultural influence of the Olmecs can be traced throughout Central Mexico. Until now, nothing is known about the people who created this first Mexican civilization. The name "Olmec", meaning "rubber people" is given by modern scientists. But where did this people come from, what language did they speak, where did they disappear after centuries - all these main questions remain unanswered after more than half a century of research into the Olmec culture.

Olmec is the oldest and most mysterious civilization Mexico. These peoples settled along the entire coast of the Gulf of Mexico, around the third millennium BC.
Coatsecoalcos was main river Olmecs. Its name in translation means "Sanctuary of the Serpent".

According to the legends, it was in this river that the farewell to the ancient deity Quetzalcoatl took place. Quetzalcoatl or the Great Cuculan, as the Mayans called him, was a feathered serpent and mysterious person. This serpent had a powerful physique, noble features, and, in general, a completely human appearance.
I wonder where he came from among the redskins and beardless Olmecs? According to legend, he came and went on the water. It was he who taught the Olmecs all the crafts, moral foundations and timekeeping. Quetzalcoatl condemned sacrifice and was against violence..

The largest monuments of the Olmecs are San Lorenzo, La Venta and Tres Zapotes. These were real urban centers, the first in Mexico. They included large ceremonial complexes with earthen pyramids, an extensive system of irrigation canals, city blocks and numerous necropolises.

The Olmecs achieved real perfection in the processing of stone, including very hard rocks. Olmec jade products are considered to be masterpieces of ancient American art. The monumental sculpture of the Olmecs included multi-ton altars made of granite and basalt, carved stelae, and human-sized sculptures. But one of the most remarkable and mysterious features of this civilization are the huge stone heads.

The first such head was found back in 1862 in La Venta. To date, 17 such giant human heads have been found, ten of them come from San Loresno, four from La Venta, the rest from two more monuments of the Olmec culture. All these heads are carved from solid blocks of basalt. The smallest are 1.5 m high, the largest head found at the Rancho la Cobata monument reaches 3.4 m in height. The average height of most Olmec heads is about 2 m. Accordingly, the weight of these huge sculptures ranges from 10 to 35 tons!

All heads are made in a single stylistic manner, but it is obvious that each of them is a portrait of a specific person. Each head is surmounted by a headpiece, most reminiscent of an American football player's helmet. But all hats are individual, there is not a single repetition. All heads have elaborate ears, decorated with large earrings or ear inserts. Piercing of the earlobes was a typical tradition for all the ancient cultures of Mexico. One of the heads, the largest one from Rancho la Cobata, depicts a man with his eyes closed, all the other sixteen heads have their eyes wide open. Those. each such sculpture was supposed to depict a specific person with a characteristic set of individual features. We can say that the Olmec heads are images of specific people. But despite the individuality of the features, all the giant heads of the Olmecs are united by one common and mysterious feature.

The portraits of the people depicted on these sculptures have pronounced Negroid features: a wide flattened nose with large nostrils, plump lips and big eyes. Such features do not fit in with the main anthropological type. ancient population Mexico. In Olmec art, whether it be sculpture, relief or small plastic, in most cases the typical Indian appearance characteristic of the American race is reflected. But not on giant heads. Such Negroid features were noted by the first researchers from the very beginning. This has led to the emergence of various hypotheses: from assumptions about the migration of people from Africa to claims that such racial type was characteristic of the ancient inhabitants South-East Asia who were among the first settlers to America. However, this problem was rather quickly "released on the brakes" by representatives of official science. It was too inconvenient to think that there could have been any contacts between America and Africa at the very dawn of civilization. The official theory did not imply them.

And if so, then the Olmec heads are images of local rulers, after whose death such original memorial monuments were made. But the Olmec heads are really a unique phenomenon for ancient America. In the Olmec culture itself, there are still similar analogies, i.e. sculptural human heads. But unlike the 17 "Negro" heads, they depict portraits of people of a typical American race, are smaller and made in accordance with a completely different pictorial canon. There is nothing similar in other cultures of ancient Mexico. In addition, one can ask a simple question: if these are images of local rulers, then why are there so few of them, if we talk about the thousand-year history of the Olmec civilization?

And what about the problem of negroid traits? Whatever the ruling in historical science theories, besides them there are also facts. An Olmec vessel in the form of a seated elephant is kept in the Anthropological Museum of Xalapa (Veracruz).

It is considered proven that elephants in America disappeared with the end of the last glaciation, i.e. about 12 thousand years ago. But the elephant was known to the Olmecs, so much so that it was even depicted in figured ceramics. Either elephants still lived in the Olmec era, which contradicts paleozoological data, or Olmec masters were familiar with African elephants, which contradicts modern historical views. But the fact remains, you can, if not feel it with your hands, then see it with your own eyes in the museum. Unfortunately, academic science diligently bypasses such awkward "trifles". In addition, in the last century, in different parts of Mexico, and on monuments with traces of the influence of the Olmec civilization (Monte Alban, Tlatilco), burials were discovered, the skeletons in which anthropologists identified as belonging to the Negroid race.

Giant Olmec heads ask researchers a lot of paradoxical questions. One of the heads from San Lorenzo has an inner tube connecting the sculpture's ear and mouth. How could such a complex internal channel be made in a monolithic basalt block 2.7 m high using primitive (not even metal) tools? Geologists who have studied the Olmec heads have determined that the basalt from which the heads at La Venta were made came from quarries in the Tuxtla Mountains, which, measured in a straight line, are 90 kilometers away. How did the ancient Indians, who did not even know the wheel, transported stone monolithic blocks weighing 10-20 tons over rough terrain. American archaeologists believe that the Olmecs could use reed rafts, which, along with the cargo, were floated down the river to the Gulf of Mexico, and already along the coast they delivered basalt blocks to their urban centers. But the distance from the Tuxtla quarries to the nearest river is about 40 km, and this is a dense swampy jungle.

In some myths about the creation of the world, which have survived to this day from various Mexican peoples, the emergence of the first cities is associated with newcomers from the north. According to one version, they sailed in boats from the north and landed near the Panuco River, then went along the coast to Potonchan at the mouth of Jalisco (the ancient center of the Olmecs, La Venta, is located in this area). Here the aliens exterminated the local giants and founded the first of those mentioned in the legends. Cultural Center Tamoanchan.

According to another myth, seven tribes came from the north to the Mexican highlands. Two peoples already lived here - the Chichimecs and the Giants. Moreover, the giants inhabited the lands to the east of modern Mexico City - the regions of Puebla and Cholula. Both peoples led a barbaric way of life, obtained food by hunting and ate raw meat. Newcomers from the north expelled the Chichemecs, and exterminated the giants. Thus, according to the mythology of a number of Mexican peoples, the giants were the forerunners of those who created the first civilizations in these territories. But they could not resist the aliens, and were destroyed. By the way, a similar situation took place in the Middle East and it is described in sufficient detail in the Old Testament.

Mentions of a race of ancient giants that preceded historical peoples, are found in many Mexican myths. So the Aztecs believed that the earth was inhabited by giants in the era of the First Sun. They called the ancient giants "kiname" or "kinametine". The Spanish chronicler Bernardo de Sahagun identified these ancient giants with the Toltecs and believed that it was they who erected the giant pyramids at Teotehuacan and Cholula.

Bernal Diaz, a member of the Cortes expedition, wrote in his book “The Conquest of New Spain” that after the conquistadors entrenched themselves in the city of Tlaxcala (east of Mexico City, Puebla region), the local Indians told them that in very ancient times people settled in this area huge growth and strength. But since they had bad temper and bad customs, the Indians exterminated them. In support of their words, the inhabitants of Tlaxcala showed the Spaniards a bone ancient giant. Diaz writes that it was a femur and its length was equal to the height of Diaz himself. Those. the growth of these giants was more than three times the height of an ordinary person.

In the book The Conquest of New Spain, he describes how the Indians told them that in ancient times people of enormous stature settled in these places, but the Indians did not agree with their characters and killed everyone. Quote from the book:

“They also reported that before their arrival, the country was inhabited by giants, rude and wild, who then either died out or were destroyed. As proof, they showed the femur of such a giant. Indeed, it was the size of my full height, and I'm not small. And there were a fair number of such bones; we were amazed and horrified at such a breed of past times and decided to send samples to His Majesty in Spain.

(The quote is taken from the chapter "Friendship with Tlaxcala".)

There was no point in lying to the author, matters were discussed much more important than long-extinct and non-dangerous giants, and it was said and shown by the Indian in passing, as a matter of course. And yes, the book is about something else. And if a modern TV channel can still be suspected of falsifying facts in order to raise the rating, then a person who publicly promises to send “non-existent” giant human bones to the king 500 years ago can only be suspected of idiocy. Which, having read his book, is very difficult to do.
Traces of giants were found in this area and in the manuscripts of the Aztecs (Aztec codices), who later lived in the same places, in the form of drawings, and in many Mexican myths.

Drawing from an Aztec manuscript. Judging by how many people pull one big man, it is also very heavy. Maybe it's his head imprinted in stone?

In addition, from different sources it can be seen that the ancient giants inhabited a certain territory, namely eastern part central Mexico up to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It is quite legitimate to assume that the giant heads of the Olmecs symbolized the victory over the race of giants and the winners erected these monuments in the centers of their cities in order to perpetuate the memory of the defeated predecessors. On the other hand, how can such an assumption be reconciled with the fact that all giant Olmec heads have individual facial features?

Maybe those researchers who believe that giant heads were portraits of rulers are right? But the study of paradoxical phenomena is always complicated by the fact that such historical phenomena seldom fit into a system of habitual logic. That's why they are paradoxical. Moreover, myths, like any historical source exposed to the influences dictated by the current political situation. Mexican myths were written down by Spanish chroniclers in the 16th century. Information about events that happened dozens of centuries before that time could be transformed several times. The image of the giants could be distorted to please the winners. Why not assume that the giants were rulers in the Olmec cities for some time? And why not also assume that this ancient people giants belonged to the Negroid race?

The ancient Ossetian epic "Tales of the Narts" is all imbued with the theme of the struggle of the Narts with the giants. They were called Waigi. But, what is most interesting, they were called black waigs. And although the epic never mentions the skin color of the Caucasian giants, the adjective "black", in relation to the waigs, is used in the epic as a qualitative, and not as a figurative concept. Of course, such a comparison of facts relating to the ancient history of peoples so remote from each other may seem too bold. But our knowledge of remote epochs is too scarce.

It remains only to recall the great poet A.S. Pushkin, who used the rich heritage of Russian folklore in his work. In "Ruslan and Lyudmila" main character collides with the head of a giant, standing alone in an open field and defeats it. The same theme of victory over the ancient giants and the same image of a giant head. And such a coincidence cannot be a mere coincidence.

Graham Hancock writes in Traces of the Gods: “The most amazing thing was that Tres Zapotes was not a Mayan city at all. It was completely, exclusively, undeniably Olmec. This meant that it was the Olmecs, and not the Maya, who invented the calendar, that it was the Olmec culture, and not the Maya, that was the "progenitor" of the cultures of Central America ... The Olmecs are much older than the Maya. They were a skillful, civilized, technically advanced people, and it was they who invented the calendar with dots and dashes, in which the starting point is the mysterious date August 13, 3114 BC.

Most Olmec stone heads depict a person with Negroid features. But 2000 years ago there were no black Africans in the New World, the first of them appeared much later than the conquest, when the slave trade began. However, there is solid evidence from paleoanthropologists that as part of one of the migrations to the territory of the American continent during the last ice age, people of the Negroid race did indeed fall. This migration took place around 15,000 BC.

At San Lorenzo, the Olmecs built an artificial mound more than 30 meters high as part of a huge structure 1200 meters long and 600 meters wide. Archaeologist Michael Kou during excavations in 1966, he made a number of finds, including over twenty artificial reservoirs connected by a very complex network of gutters lined with basalt. Part of this network was built into the watershed. When this place was excavated, the water again began to pour from there in a stream in heavy rains, as it had done for more than three thousand years. The main drainage line ran from east to west. Three auxiliary lines were cut into it, and the junctions were made very competently from a technical point of view. After carefully examining the system, archaeologists were forced to admit that they could not understand the purpose of this complex system of water conduits and other hydraulic structures.

The Olmecs are still a mystery to archaeologists. It was not possible to find any traces of the evolution of the Olmecs, as if this people appeared from nowhere. Nothing is known about the social organization, rituals and belief system of the Olmecs, what language they spoke, what ethnic group they belonged, not a single Olmec skeleton has been preserved.

The Maya inherited their calendar from the Olmecs, who used it a thousand years before the Maya. But where did the Olmecs get it from? What level of technical and scientific development of a civilization is required to develop such a calendar? published

The first great culture of Central America originated in the swampy jungles of the south. For 1250 years BC. e. people began to build majestic cult centers where there were only miserable villages. Even more surprising are the preserved stone sculptures that adorned these centers.

Olmecs- This is the name of the tribe, mentioned in the Aztec historical chronicles.

It is about the Olmecs that we will tell you now.

San Lorenzo, the first ceremonial center, was built on a huge mound 45 m high (like a 15-story building). At this level, the builders created additional earthen mounds grouped around rectangular courtyards.

Huge heads carved from stone were set in the courtyards; the largest is 3.4 m in height and 20 tons in weight.

Since the Olmecs did not know wheeled transport, the stone blocks from which the sculptures were made were delivered on rafts from the mountains, located 80 km away. Then they were processed with stone tools, since the Olmecs also did not use metals yet.

Scientists believe that these sculptures could be images of deceased rulers. Some of the heads are "put on" helmets, very similar to those used by American football players.

This parallel may not be accidental - it is known that the Olmecs invented a ritual ball game; subsequently it was adopted by all the civilizations of Central America.

Players were prohibited from touching the ball with their hands and feet, and they operated with their elbows, shins and hips. Judging by the fact that figurines, ornaments and other items were found both in the north of Mexico and in El Salvador and Costa Rica, the Olmecs conducted extensive trade throughout Central America.

Originating in the rainforests permeated with swamp evaporation near the Gulf of Mexico, the Olmec culture spread over several centuries to almost the entire territory of modern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

In addition to artisans and merchants in their society, apparently, there was a rich ruling class and peasant farmers, from among whom work force for the construction of religious centers.

Perhaps the peasants rebelled against overexploitation. San Lorenzo was deliberately destroyed around 900 BC. e., the faces of the sculptures were mutilated, after which they were buried in the ground.

A small bust of a woman, carved in rare blue jade, illustrates well high skill Olmec stone cutters.

Their sculptors made figures using only stone tools.

On the left you can see a photo of a female bust found in the area where the ancient Olmecs lived.

Subsequently, other centers arose, first La Venta, on an island in the middle of the river. Tonals, and then Tres Zapotes, which also fell into disrepair around 200 BC. e.

This time is considered the end of the Olmec civilization.

However, the influence of the Olmecs survived in subsequent cultures. The peoples, the Toltecs and the Aztecs borrowed from the Olmecs not only the ball game, but also astronomical calendars, architecture using large stone elements and pictographic writing.

Colossal stone head of 17 found in the cult center of La Venta. All such sculptures were carved from basalt boulders between 1200 and 900 BC. BC e. The heads measure from 1.5 to 3.4 m in height, and weigh up to 20 tons. The sculpture shown in the photograph is “wearing” a headdress, which, it is believed, may be associated with the Olmec ritual ball game.

Jaguar cult

Olmec sculptures and reliefs often depict people whose faces were given a resemblance to the muzzles of jaguars - with narrow eyes and a large parted mouth, as if in a growl.

There are also images of children with a trace of a cat's paw imprinted on their foreheads. Scientists have called these figures "jaguar people" (meaning werewolves).

The presence of such images indicates the existence of a cult of jaguars, the most powerful and dangerous predators of the Central American jungle.

It is possible that the Olmec aristocracy traced its family back to a mystical ancestor, a half-man half-jaguar, and therefore attributed to themselves such qualities inherent in this predator as ferocity and cunning.

In one of the rich burials, the skeletons of a child and two jaguars were found, which reinforces the hypothesis that the Olmecs saw a direct connection between a child from noble family and these animals.

Olmecs briefly

The most important dates in the history of the ancient civilization of the Olmecs. All dates are given with relative accuracy.

Years BC	Event
6500	In southern Mexico, red pepper (chili), cotton and gourd plants are beginning to be cultivated.
4000	Corn is grown in Central America.
3500	Beans are cultivated in Central America. The cave shelters of hunter-gatherers are being replaced by villages with dugouts.
2300	In the south of Mexico begin to produce ceramics.
2000	The nomadic way of life of hunter-gatherers that prevailed in the region is being replaced by a sedentary agricultural one.
1400	The first earth mound found in the Olmec region was built on the Pacific coast of Guatemala.
1250	The first cult center of the Olmecs was built in San Lorenzo (south of modern Mexico).
1200	In San Lorenzo erected the earliest stone sculptures.
900	San Lorenzo destroyed; the faces of the statues are broken.
800	The main center of Olmec culture is La Venta (on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico).
400	La Venta is destroyed, its statues are buried in the ground.
200	The cult center at Tres Zapotes falls into complete decline, marking the end of the Olmec civilization.

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The Olmec civilization has undoubted evidence 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 such a name there are references to one of the tribes of this civilization. The word "Olmec" 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 were found. But there were other settlements, the larger 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 also confirmed in the legends of the Indians. It is only known for certain that the Olmecs are one of the most early cultures Central America.

Discovered Artifacts

According to the discovered artifacts, it is possible to judge that the Olmecs had developed construction, art and trade. Their pyramids, palaces, tombs, temples, mounds, plumbing systems 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 this was an “African head”, or, as it is called and now, "Head of an Ethiopian").

This famous head was fully dug up only in 1939-1940. As it turns out, the height 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 cattle) .

Subsequently, 16 more such heads were found, up to 3 m high and weighing up to 20 tons each. For the most part, 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 “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 headless statues located in this ancient settlement. However, some stone giants have survived to our time absolutely intact. In addition to heads and statues, Olmec sculpture is represented in stone altars and carved stelae, as well as in small jade and clay (rarely granite) figurines that depict people and animals.

Archaeological expeditions

Olmec altar

Various expeditions equipped to search for and study 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 erroneously attributed to the Mayan culture due to the similarity of faces.

Archaeologists made their way to the remains of ancient settlements and stone sculptures through the impenetrable jungle, tropical rivers and swamps, climb the mountains: the traces of the ancient civilization were already quite cut off from modern settlements and roads by that time. This complicated the research, but over time, based on new information, scientists discovered an increasingly clear picture of the existence of the Olmec civilization.

Stylized masks and human figures, carved on steles and stone boxes, according to researchers, are images of gods revered by the Olmecs. And in the luxurious tomb discovered in La Venta, presumably, the ruler of the Olmecs, who lived 9-10 centuries before the Aztecs appeared in these places, was buried. 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". Researchers explain this form by similarities with volcanic hills that have survived after eruptions: the Olmecs believed that gods of fire live in 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 lined with lime mortar.

What did the Olmecs look like?

The appearance of the Olmecs can be presumably restored from the many statues found: Mongoloid-type eyes, a flattened nose, plump flattened lips. The sculptures have purposefully deformed heads. More accurate information could be obtained from the remains of the Olmecs found in the tombs, but not a single whole skeleton has been preserved.

Where did they come from

According to Aztec legends, the Olmecs arrived in their habitats by boat from the north coast. In the place where the city of Panutla is now located, they left the boats and moved at the direction of the gods to the area of ​​​​Tamoanchan (translated from the Mayan language - “country 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.

According to the Norwegian researcher 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 Indian 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 during archaeological research no signs of the evolution of the Olmec civilization were found: it seemed to have appeared in an already prosperous form and just as suddenly ended its existence. But this is also just a guess. Many of the scientists are still convinced that civilizations in various parts The lands could develop in a similar pattern, being in perfect isolation from each other.

The emergence of the Olmec culture is attributed to approximately the second millennium BC. e. Judging by later archaeological research, it may have been developed from the early agricultural cultures of Central America, which gradually evolved from nomadic cultures as a result of changing 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 also have entered the territory of Central America during the last ice age. This to some extent explains the facial features reflected in the giant Olmec heads. Other researchers believe that the ancient Australians and Europeans could have entered the Meso-American territory by water. Perhaps the Olmec civilization appeared as a result of a mixture of immigrants from different continents.

In 1200-900 BC. e. the main Olmec settlement (at San Lorenzo) was abandoned: possibly as a result of an internal rebellion. The "capital" of the Olmec kingdom moved to La Venta, located 55 miles to the east, among the swamps near the Tonal River. Olmec settlement in La Venta existed in 1000-600 BC. e. or in 800-400 BC. e. (according to different research data).

The Olmecs left the eastern parts of their lands around 400 BC. e. Among possible causes- climate change, volcanic eruptions and the capture of part of the Olmecs by representatives of other civilizations. By the last centuries BC. e. archaeologists attribute the dates carved by the Olmecs on stone steles and figurines. These are the most ancient 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 script 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 antiquity: perhaps by the Olmecs themselves. In addition, some sculptures at the same ancient time were obviously moved from their original places or just as purposefully covered with earth, after which the “grave” was lined with tiles or multi-colored clay.

Some studies suggest that the heyday of the Olmec civilization falls on the 1st century BC. e. - I century A.D. e. It is from this period that all samples of Olmec writing, as well as the most advanced works of art, are dated. Thus, the Olmecs and the Maya coexisted side by side for some time.

Researcher Michael Coe believes that the ancestors of the Maya once lived on the territory of the Olmecs: when the culture of San Lorenzo and La Venta declined, the bulk of the Olmecs moved 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 the data of 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