Olmec

The Olmec were a prehistoric Mesoamerican civilization that inhabited the Gulf Coast region of present-day Mexico, mainly in Veracruz and Tabasco. They flourished roughly from 1500 BCE to 400 BCE, developing several major ceremonial centers, most notably San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Zapotes.

They produced monumental sculpture, including colossal heads up to about 3 meters tall carved from basalt, likely representing rulers. Olmec art also features jade ornaments, ceramic vessels, and reliefs with distinctive iconography such as the were-jaguar and feathered serpent motifs. In addition to sculpture, the Olmec built large ceremonial platforms and plazas around their centers.

The Olmec economy combined agriculture with craft production and long-distance exchange. Their subsistence base relied on crops such as maize, beans, and manioc, while materials like obsidian and jade were obtained from distant sources, indicating extensive trade networks. The social and political organization appears to have centered on religious elites at ceremonial sites.

Scholars regard the Olmec as one of the earliest complex societies in Mesoamerica. Their artistic styles, religious symbols, and some iconographic themes influenced later civilizations, especially the Maya and the Zapotec, and certain motifs and architectural ideas show up across the Gulf Coast and highland regions.

The name “Olmec” is derived from a Nahuatl term meaning “rubber people”; the Olmec themselves did not use this designation. After about 400 BCE, many centers were abandoned, though Olmec artistic and religious traditions continued to resonate in the region.