OLMEC

CIVILIZATION
OLMEC CIVILIZATION

The first great mesoamerican

civilization. They thrived along
southern gulf coast of mexico,
mainly in the present day states
of Veracruz and Tabasco, from
about 1200 to 400 B.C.
The name “Olmec” means “rubber
people” in Nahuatl, the language of
the Aztecs, of extracting latex from
Castilla elastica , a rubber tree in the
area. The juice of a local vine,
Ipomoea alba, was then mixwd with
this latex to create rubber as early
1600 BCE
 Olmec constructed permanent city temple
complexes at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, la
Venta, Tres Zapotes, and Laguna de los Cerros.
the principal architectural structure found in
La Venta ruins was the vast play pyramid
decorated with elaborate carvings. common
among places is the colossal heads that is
made from basalt which symbolizes throne.
these are also monuments and other major
pieces of olmec art such as mask and figurines.
 Olmec are known to cultivate cacao, rubber and salt. It
is also observed that they are using an elaborate water
and drainage system they manufactured chocolate
drinks. There are evidence that suggest the olmec
practice human sacrifice and cannibalism. The calendar
used in Mexico may also have originated from the
Olmec. They also studied astronomy since they are
obsessed with the timing of religious ritual animal gods
where feature of olmec culture. Olmec traded goods
such as obsidian, ceramics, jade, serpentine, mica,
rubber, pottery, feathers and polished mirrors of
limenite and magnetite.
MAYA
CIVILIZATION
MAYA CIVILIZATION

 The ancient Mayans are a diverse group of

indigenous people who live in parts of present
day Mexico Belize Guatemala, El Salvador and
Honduras. It is regarded as one of the most
important pre-Columbian mesoamerican
cultures. The Maya's are credited with the
number of remarkable scientific achievements
in various scientific fields such as astronomy,
engineering, medicine, and mathematics.
a) The mayan not only made the great
progress in agriculture, but also made a
big break in technology.
b) The architectural and engineering skills
were manifested in the grandeur of their
tall pyramids of limestone, with small
temples on the top constructed like an arch
supported by two side walls bridge by a row
of flat stones and ornamented by steeples
or roof combs. They are usually made of
cherts, obsidian, silicified, limestone and
jade.
c.As far as astronomy was concerned they track the
movement of the stars and planets across the sky
and were able to accurately predict celestial
events such as eclipses. To the Mayan, Venus was
the most important astronomical object.
d. The mayans also discovered an accurate calendar.
The ritual calendar that developed in
Mesoamerica used a count of 260 days. This
calendar gave each day and name, much like our
days of the week. There were 20 days names
represented by their representative symbols.
e. The written language of the Mayan was
made up of about 800 glyphs, or
symbols. Each one represented a word of
a syllable and could be combined with
the others in an almost infinite number
of ways. As a result there were three or
four different ways to write almost every
word in the Mayan language.
f. The Mayans were also talented in
building elaborate temples and great
cities without the essential tools like
metal. It is believed that Mayans were
producing rubber products.