The first civilization of Mexico

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The first civilization of Mexico

• Initial Formative
• The Olmec

Preclassic Olmec-style figure. Veracruz.
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Agenda

• Understanding social complexity
• Olmec foundations
• art
• architecture
• spiritual world

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Initial Formativec.2000-1200 BC

• During the Formative period agriculture and
  village life became established in the Isthmus of
  Tehuantepec.
• Early sites of importance include San Jose Magote
  in the Valley of Oaxaca and at Tierras Largas

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• Olmec culture in the Late Formative has all the
  elements of a mature culture art styles,
  developed pottery, and architecturally impressive
  ceremonial centers, rubber but who set the
  stage?
• Before the Olmec, cultural groups began to
  organize around a central village.

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Chiefdom

• Villages clustered around central village
• Central village has civic/ceremonial structures
• central village has larger population than
  surrounding villages

• Implications centralized authority
• disparities in wealth measured in material goods
  and access to luxury items
• social and economic disparities

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Technology

• Essentially neolithic highly refined lithic tool
  kits based on mass produced blades/trade
• pottery numerous vessel forms suggesting
  specialized purposes
• jewelry of precious metals and stone (jaditie)
• house construction
• stone civic architecture

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Shared material culture traits

• Stylistic variations in pottery help
  archaeologists locate culture spread,
  relationships and associations.
• Artistic motifs in painting, design, and
  manufacture also provide evidence.
• Similar deities and modes of homage indicate
  associations.

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San Jose Magote

• 1150-850 BC (overlaps with early Olmec)
• Large scale village in Oaxaca Valley
• well made houses with stone foundation, wood
  frame and mud plaster with thatched roof on
  artificial platform(see page 123)
• Ceremonial center of similar construction.

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Important Olmec sites

• San Lorenzo (1200-900 BC)
• La Venta (900-400 BC)
• several lesser sites

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La Venta platform and plaza
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Olmec achievements

• Invent rubber
• among the finest sculptors in history
• design stone architecture with emphasis on
  celestial orientation
• imported stone over long distance

• Complex social and religious order
• milpa agriculture
• jade trade
• evidence of complex structures of authority

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Olmec mysteries

• Colossal heads
• carved figurescontroversy (Who? Why?)
• Ball game
• ritual significance
• Jaguar cult
• anthrpomorphic babies in sculpture

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See pages 142-143
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Anthropomorphic axe. Jadite. Provenance not well
established. Jaguar and human baby composite.
Common theme.
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Recent considerations

• Cranial deformation
• Twin worship / duality
• Relationship between Olmec and Zapotec at Monte
  Alban?

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Cache of figures as found in ritual position. La
Venta. Deeply buried, figures standing near
polished jade axes. Approx. 8 inches
tall. Evidence of cranial deformation. How shall
we interpret this scene?
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Deformation brought about by binding the skull
shortly after birth while skull is still soft and
maintaining for a couple years.
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Cranial deformation

• Also found among Maya Nazca in Peru
• Some evidence that it was isolated to those of
  elite status, not the whole population.
• We can not say with certainty it was a mark of
  beauty.

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Preclassic style pottery figurine, from Tlatilco,
Mexico City. Comparative figurine.