Olmec Empire 1400 BCE - 900 BCE

The Rise of Olmec Empire

The Olmecs were the earliest known complex civilization in Mesoamerica, which developed along the Gulf of Mexico, starting from 1400 BC in the Early Formative period. (1) The Olmec heartland was centred around the volcanic uplift called Los Tuxtlas Mountains, which was flanked by major drainage basins. (Adams, 2005) The Olmecs were characterized by three different states which surfaced during different periods of the civilization. The earliest state was San Lorenzo, followed by La Venta, and subsequently Tres Zapotes. (Adams, 2005) As not much is known about Tres Zapotes, other than it being an area with rich source of basalt, the focus in this article would be on San Lorenzo and La Venta. The Olmecs were well-known for their art, sculptures, and architecture (3), which led to their popularization in Mesoamerica history, but agricultural activities played a large role in the prosperity of Olmec in the Early Formative period. (4) Hence, the rise of Olmec can be attributed to agricultural activities in the Early Formative period, while art and religion led the rise of Olmec in the Middle Formative period.

Map of Olmec, with San Lorenzo south of the map and La Venta east of the map

Source: Journal of Anthropology Archaeology

Regions of the Olmecs

San Lorenzo (1200 BCE – 900 BCE)

San Lorenzo was located on a large agricultural site. It is the earliest known of all three major sites. The people were mostly engaged in agricultural activities. As San Lorenzo controlled much or whole of the Coatzacoalcos basin (Adams, 2005), they were heavily reliant on the basin as a mode of transport for their crops to be sold to other regions. Subsequent fall of San Lorenzo saw the rise of La Venta.

La Venta (900 BCE – 400 BCE)

Unlike San Lorenzo, La Venta is an island site in a swamp and on the Tonala River (Adams, 2005), without any agricultural land. The people in La Venta are believed to have thrived on manioc, also known as cassava, rather than maize as their dietary staple (VanDerwarker, 2006).

Factors for Rise of the Olmecs

Early Formative Period

Agriculture

Prior to the complexity of Olmec civilizations, people used to be hunters and gatherers, which supported their subsistence lifestyle. However, as farming methods were discovered, such as using the “slash-and-burn” technique, agriculture activities gave rise to a larger population as more food is produced. This is congruent with archaeological findings (Flannery 1986; Sanders et al. 1979; Spencer 1982, as cited in VanDerwarker, 2006) that agricultural intensification increased as population size grow. Furthermore, San Lorenzo being close to the Coatzacoalcos River basin, had well-watered alluvial soil that helps in agricultural intensification. (Van Derwarker, 2006) Crops such as maize, which was the staple food, beans, sweet potatoes and other sources of food such as fish and shellfish was also easily obtainable. (Minster, 2018) Hence, agriculture activities is likely to be the main factor for the rise of Olmecs in the Early Formative Period.

Middle Formative Period

Art, Sculptures, and Architecture

The colossal stone heads were the most iconic sculpture of the Olmec civilization. The colossal stone heads displayed unique facial features, which may have been the portraits of actual rulers. They were made from basalt, which was found in abundance in La Venta. The heads are nearly 3m high and weigh over 8 tons. (Cartwright, 2018) This suggests that substantial number of people were required in transporting the boulders to make the colossal heads, therefore the population size must be large. (Minster, 2018)

Besides colossal heads, there were other forms of Olmec art such as statues, figurines and cave paintings. It is likely that the people belonged to the artisan class

Furthermore, the architecture in La Venta seemed to suggest that it was a religious centre for the people. Buildings were placed symmetrically along the north-south axis with four colossal heads facing a specific direction, (Cartwright, 2018) while courtyards had a palisade of basalt columns erected. (Adams, 2005) With a substantial number of monumental sculptures present, religion is likely to have been important in the rise of the Olmecs during the Middle Formative period.

With hunting and gathering roles evolving into agricultural activities in the Early Formative period, while art and architecture led the rise in complex civilizations during the Middle Formative period, there is a trend of progression in the complexity of civilizations across the different time periods.

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The Fall of Olmec

Background

Tres Zapotes was situated between the volcanic massif of Sierra de los Tuxtlas on the east and the alluvial plains of the Rio Papaloapan on the west. It had an abundance of resources that provided for the basic livelihood of the people living there.

The Fall of Olmec

The flourishment of the Olmec civilization continued till 300 BCE, following which it suddenly disappeared. (Michael, 1996) The decline of the Olmec civilization has been a mystery for many historians, but researchers believe that the decline of the Olmec civilization was due to its evolution into Epi-Olmec culture. (Pool, 2000) To fully understand, we have to examine the evolution of Tres Zapotes, which spans over the Olmec and Epi-Olmec components. (Pool, 2000) However, previous studies failed to produce an accurate site map, thus not much information can be provided regarding Tres Zapotes organization and settlement. Nonetheless, we will examine the available evidences from sculptures, architecture, and artefact distributions from Tres Zapotes to support the view of the transition from Olmec to Epi-Olmec.

The transition of Olmec to Epi-Olmec culture can be seen in the sculptural corpus of Tres Zapotes. According to Pool (2000), “thematic and stylistic continuity from Olmec times is most strongly represented in the stelae of Tres Zapotes”. One such example is Stela D, which depict three figures within a niche. It shows the mouth of a monster that appears to be gaping, and the upper register of the carving is similar to La Venta Stela I. (Pool, 2000) The Stela D is also similar to La Venta’s Altar 4, which was found during the Olmec civilization. However, the difference is that Stela D appears to be depicting an event that occurred, while La Venta Stela I and Altar 4 appears to be showing historical nature. (Wikipedia, Tres Zapotes, 2018)

Source: (Photograph by Charles Knight, as cited in Pool, 2000)

Source: (Charles Ruben, Wikimedia)

Source: (Andrés Monroy-Hernández, Wikimedia)

Conclusion

As Stela D, La Venta's Altar 4, and Stela I were all found in Tres Zapotes, but evidently having different styles, the transition of Olmec to Epi-Olmec could be a reason for the “disappearance” of the Olmec civilization. As of now, there is little evidences for other factors leading to the fall. Further search in the Tres Zapotes region may uncover findings that may explain other reasons for the fall of the Olmec civilization.

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Summarized Points

What led to the rise of Olmecs

• Focused on two states: San Lorenzo and La Venta, based on timeline of Early Formative Period and Middle Formative Period.

• In the Early Formative Period, agricultural activity was the main reason for the rise in the Olmecs, especially in San Lorenzo, since it was located in an area with favourable ecology for farming.

• In the Middle Formative Period, art, sculpture popularized, and this led to the creation of religious centres, such as those in La Venta, with basalt columns erected in the courtyards.

What led to the fall of Olmecs

• Background: The fall of the Olmecs was relatively unknown, as their culture disappeared suddenly. They flourished up till 300 BCE, and then it "disappeared".

• Researchers view this decline as a transition from Olmec to Epi-Olmec, rather than a disappearance.

• Evidences from Tres Zapotes archaeological findings of sculpture supports the hypothesis of a transition.

• More archaeological findings are required to fully understand the reasons behind the fall of the Olmec civilization

Reference List

[Cover image] San Lorenzo Monument 3. Image by Maribel Ponce Ixba (frida27ponce). This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Lorenzo_Monument_3.jpg

1. VanDerwarker, A. M. (2006). Farming, hunting, and fishing in the Olmec world. Retrieved November 7, 2018, from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/lib/buffalo/detail.action?docID=3443213.

2. Adams, R. E. (2005). Prehistoric Mesoamerica. Retrieved November 7, 2018, from https://archive.org/details/prehistoricmesoa00adam/

3. Arnold, P. J. (2009). Settlement and subsistence among the Early Formative Gulf Olmec. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 28(4), 397-411. doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2009.08.001

4. Minster, C. (2018, August 28). The Founding Culture of Mesoamerica. Retrieved November 7, 2018, from https://www.thoughtco.com/olmec-culture-overview-2136299

5. Cartwright, M. (2018, April 4). Olmec Civilization. Retrieved November 7, 2018, from https://www.ancient.eu/Olmec_Civilization/

6. Lemonick, M. D., & Dorfman, A. (1996). Mystery of the Olmec. Time, 148(2), 56. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bah&AN=9606257624&site=ehost-live&scope=site

7. Pool, C. (2000). From Olmec to Epi-Olmec at Tres Zapotes, Veracruz, Mexico. Studies in the History of Art, 58, 136-153. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/stable/42622271

8. Tres Zapotes. (2018, August 09). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tres_Zapotes

9. Charles, R. (2007, March 16). Altar 4 La Venta [Photograph]. Flickr. Retrieved from

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Altar_4_La_Venta_(Ruben_Charles).jpg. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

10. Monroy-Hernández, A. (2007, February 24). Olmec Woman [Photograph]. Flickr. Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olmec_woman.jpg. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.