Research topic:Olmec

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Olmec

A Dictionary of World History | 2000 | © A Dictionary of World History 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Olmec
1. A member of a prehistoric people inhabiting the coast of Veracruz and western Tabasco on the Gulf of Mexico c.1200–100 BC, who established what was probably the first developed civilization of Mesoamerica. They are noted for their sculptures, especially the massive stonehewn heads with realistic features and round helmets, and small jade carvings featuring a jaguar.

2. A member of a Native American people living in the highlands of Mexico or migrating to the Gulf coast during the 12th century. Their name is derived from a Nahuatl word meaning ‘people of the rubber (-tree) country’.

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Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

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Olmec, mother of Mesoamerican culture?
Newspaper article from: Deseret News (Salt Lake City); 3/15/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...Most impressive were Olmec sculptures: colossal...revered rulers. The Olmecs are widely regarded...scholars think the Olmec civilization was...much influence the Olmecs had on contemporary...Lorenzo, the first Olmec capital, was doing...Blomster said. "The Olmecs were disseminating...
Romaning the Olmec stones // Explore an early civilization and mysteries it left behind
Newspaper article from: Chicago Sun-Times; 9/1/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...unearthed in San Lorenzo, the first Olmec capital and the center of Olmec power for 400 years. IT'S...everything we know about the Olmecs is through their art. Except...wood figures and one mask, only Olmec stonework has survived millenniums...
The Ancient Olmecs; Monumental Art, Mysterious End
Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 7/10/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...of the culture now known as Olmec except that it appears to have...civilizations of Mexico. The Olmecs left no written records. Instead...a tantalizing glimpse of the Olmec world that archeologists and...probe for clues to its decline. Olmec civilization arose along the...
The rise of the Olmecs.(pre-Columbian civilization)(Cover Story)
Magazine article from: Calliope; 1/1/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...its rulers reigned over the Olmec world until about 400 B.C., when Olmec culture ceased to exist. People abandoned much of the old Olmec heartland, while new population...Mexico. The descendants of the Olmecs became the Popoluca-speaking...
Pottery Presented as Evidence Of Olmec Culture's Influence
Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 2/18/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...new evidence yesterday that the fabled Olmec, sculptors of ancient Mexico's colossal...hypothesis and those who argue that the Olmec were just one of several "sister" cultures...pottery with symbols and designs in the "Olmec style," only the early Olmec themselves...
Behind the Mask of the Olmec; At the National Gallery, a Dazzling Look At the First Great Mexican Civilation
Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 6/30/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...years, when some of these small Olmec sculptures made their way via...features). Today, however, the Olmecs are celebrated as the mother...Because no evidence of a written Olmec language has yet been found...the life and beliefs of the Olmecs. Curiously, the Olmecs appear...
Discovering new old culture: Olmec art reveals little-known ancient society.(Arts)(Sculpture)
Newspaper article from: The Washington Times; 6/30/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...even to identify the Olmecs - who flourished between...people. The studies of Olmec culture are still young...according to leading Olmec scholar Richard A. Diehl...records come down, as the Olmecs had no writing. Certain elements of the Olmec art style are, indeed...
Not just a pretty face: although known for its heads, Olmec civilization broke American ground in pyramids and communication.
Magazine article from: Business Mexico; 11/1/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...great urban centers in Mexico--the largest in the Olmec empire--more than three millennia ago. Its magnificent...since disappeared. Still, the rich legacy of the Olmec lives on. The Olmec are often called the mother culture of Mesoamerica...
An a-"maize"-ing story.(maize and its role in development of Olmec society)
Magazine article from: Calliope; 1/1/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...throughout the Olmec period. The pollen...proof that the Olmecs and their ancestors...by the ancient Olmecs and the speculations...development of Olmec society, it is...the emergence of Olmec civilization, but it was the Olmecs who introduced...
Cultural mother (or just a sister?) Ceramics study splits archaeologists on Mexico's Olmecs
Newspaper article from: International Herald Tribune; 3/15/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...Most impressive were Olmec sculptures: colossal...revered rulers.The Olmecs are widely regarded...Lorenzo, the first Olmec capital, was doing...Blomster said. ''The Olmecs were disseminating...the idea that the Olmec invented civilization...acknowledged that the Olmecs established a ...

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

Olmecs
Encyclopedia entry from: International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences OlmecsOlmec ” is the name...Beatriz de la Fuente. 1996. Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico...Richard A. 2004. The Olmecs: America ’ s...Pool, Christopher. 2007. Olmec Archaeology and Early Mesoamerica...
Olmec
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Olmec , term denoting the culture of ancient Mexican...remains unclear. The largest and best known Olmec sites are situated along rivers on the coastal...found in Mesoamerica. For this reason, the Olmec are often considered to be the cultura madre...
Olmec architecture
Book article from: A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture Olmec architecture. Meso-American architecture, of which La Venta, a ceremonial centre situated on an island in the Tonalà...
pre-Columbian art and architecture
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition ...and culture from the framework of Maya chronology. The Olmec The Olmec civilization, to the west, in the area of Veracruz...the period 800 to 400 BC marks the finest period of Olmec art as typified by the finds made at the site of La Venta...
Mayan Mythology
Book article from: Myths and Legends of the World ...Mesoamerican gods were created by the Olmec civilization of Mexico. Emerging...sometime after 1400 b.c., the Olmecs lived along the southern coast...valued items such as jade. The Olmec pantheon probably included deities...later Mesoamerican peoples. Olmec art included images of jaguars...

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