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Resources => Other Cultures [Public] => Topic started by: tangerine dream on May 20, 2008, 01:30:58 AM

Title: Olmeca
Post by: tangerine dream on May 20, 2008, 01:30:58 AM

I probably should have chosen the Olmecs instead of canada as a Culture I am interested in.  I am passionate about anything from these parts and this time frame.  Have had past-life here and done a bit of Dreaming too.  Very intriguing especially is the stuff they do not talk about much, rituals sacrifice and political-religious traditions.


The Olmecs


The birthplace of Olmeca culture lies between the Grijalva and Papaloapa rivers. In the modern Mexican Republic this region is
the southern part of the state of Veracruz and the eastern part of the state of Tabasco. This is where the people we now call
Olmecs first built the cities and carved the sculptures that continue to amaze us. The word Olmec is derived from the Nahuatl
OLLI and MECATL, (rope), line or lineage. Another meaning is an inhabitant of the rubber country. Yet another term applied
to the ancient Olmecas is TENOCELOME, mouth of the jaguar.

Olmeca culture is considered the mother culture of civilization in Mesoamerica. Its ancient capitals -- La Venta, San Lorenzo,
Laguna de los Cerros, Tres Zapotes -- are found in an area that is bound from the east by the Tuxtla mountains, and by the
Southern Mountain Range (Sierra Madre del Sur) in the south. Experts call this locale the metropolitan area, climax area, or
nuclear zone. This large area, stretching between the mountain ranges and the Gulf of Mexico, is very humid because it
possesses an abundance of water: lakes, rivers and marshes. Although hunting and fishing was plentiful in this area, farming must
have been a common activity. The inhabitants produced the corn, beans and squash that are typically the source of sustenance
for all Mesoamerican groups. The Olmecs are probably responsible for first achieving the domestication of the dog and turkey
and a more advanced agricultural system. There is evidence that they practiced cannibalism. There is also evidence that they
may have used a hallucinogenic substance extracted, from a marine frog that is abundant in the Gulf. We believe that Olmec
government was theocratic because restoration and conservation efforts have revealed extensive construction of religious
centers and both monumental and small-sized sculptures.

Some of La Venta's ceremonial centers are more elaborate. One pre- planned ceremonial center features monuments made
with earthen materials. Although they have little architectural value, the site includes mounds for religious use, stone mosaic
floors, a space surrounded by basalt columns and a large grave formed from those same columns.

Olmeca sculpture is a style onto itself. It is a vehicle of expression and the visible signature of an era of cultural integration. Its
various forms, which integrate stylistically, are like an essential and permanent conglomerate, subject to the same cultural
process it expresses and reflects.

The Olmecas sculpted monumental stone heads of perfect proportions, between 1.5 and 3 meters tall; solid rectangular altars;
enormous statues that represented deformed people; amalgamations of humans with jaguars; and very fine figures reflecting
these same themes.

(http://www.geocities.com/eztigma/culturas/imagen/olmecas.jpg)

Title: Re: Olmeca
Post by: tangerine dream on May 20, 2008, 01:32:51 AM

(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/120/290396778_11bc1cadd9.jpg?v=0)

Title: Re: Olmeca
Post by: tangerine dream on May 27, 2008, 01:44:52 PM

(http://masalto.com/masalto_db/imagenes_db/Oque/foto_olmecas_1.jpg)

Title: Re: Olmeca
Post by: tangerine dream on May 27, 2008, 01:45:39 PM

Olmecs

    From about 1500 B.C. to 200B.C. the first stratified civilizations appeared in Mexico. They were the Olmecs and the people of Monte Albán. A civilization means an urban society possessing a complex social organization of labor, politics, and religion as well as the ability to write. There has been much debate as to which group was the "first" civilization in Mexico. The most popular view is that the Olmecs were probably the first civilized people in Mexico. They settled in what are now the modern states of Tabasco and Veracruz. Their citites appeared around 1200 B.C. They were at the height of ther power between 700 and 400 B.C. Since the influence of the Olmecs was limited to the vicinities of their cities, there was probably not a centralized political organization. They practiced a form of hieroglyphs, which was a pictorial form of writing important in creating a writing system.
    In the Olmec civilization, two art forms became very important indicators of a stratified society. One art form was a large stone head measuring nearly nine feet in height and weighing nearly 40 tons each. The other was a figurine made of jade. These artifacts were made of jaguar faces combined with human bodies to create "were-jaguars". the jaguar represented a complex array of religious beliefs associated with the gods of rain and fertility. The wide-spread discovery of the "were-jaguar" indicates that this imagery spread throughout Mexico.
    Toward the middle of the first millennium B.C., the Olmecs mysteriously disappeared. Their disappearance was due to either another group gaining control over them or changes in the climate could not support their needs for food. However, the Olmecs played a very important role in shaping the civilizations that followed. Many adopted thier ideas, practices, and values. Jade became more valued than gold. A ritual handball game became an important component of future civilizations. It is believed the Olmecs practiced human sacrifice. This handball game was one way of selecting those victims to be offered to the gods. The game was played between two teams. The ball could not be touched with the hands, only with the knees or hips. The captain of the team who won the game had the honor of being sacrificed to the gods. His family was forever more honored and respected for the sacrifice their son made.
    With the decline of the Olmec civilization, came the the rise of the people of Monte Albán. This civilization was located on top of a large mountain outside of the present day city of Oaxaca City. This group had many similarities to the Olmecs and it is thought that some form of trade was taking place between the Olmecs and the people of Monte Albán.
 

Title: Re: Olmeca
Post by: tangerine dream on May 27, 2008, 01:48:21 PM

(http://www.hypnotiqueolmecpunch.org/Olmec%20Capitol_Our%20Story.JPG)

(http://www.franklinco.k12.nc.us/ESL/lessons/mexicounit/Playingfieldaztecgme.jpg)

These two pictures are very much like  a dream I had  a few years ago. 


(http://www.franklinco.k12.nc.us/ESL/lessons/mexicounit/MonteAlban.jpg)

Title: Re: Olmeca
Post by: Ke-ke wan on September 13, 2011, 01:31:19 AM

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Olmec_mask_802.jpg)

Title: Re: Olmeca
Post by: Ke-ke wan on September 13, 2011, 01:33:14 AM

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/da/OlmecheadMNAH.jpg)