Olmec, Norte Chico

1. Ancient Civilizations in
Central & South
America
Janet Pareja, Signature School, Evansville, Indiana

2. Earliest Civilizations in Americas
• Olmec
• Norte Chico–
• Mesoamerica
Andes Mountains:
Caral in the Supe
• 1400 BCE- 400 BCE
Valley
• “Rubber People”

4. Early Olmec Religious Centers

5. Regional Religious Centers
 Olmec Cities
• La Venta’s Great
Pyramid marked the
height of Olmec
civilization, and was the
largest structure in the
Americas.

6. Olmec: Alluvial Plain?
Coatzacoalcos
River Basin
Stretched as far South as Guatemala,
Honduras, and Costa Rica…125 x 50 miles.
Irrigation
Water Drainage
Varied by season:
Too dry to Floods &
Hurricanes!

7. Agriculture
• Slash & Burn
• Beans, chilis,
avocados, gourds,
tomatoes
•Maize!!
•Cacao!!
• No large animals to
domesticate

9. • Jade, obsidian, magnetite
items, such as masks,
knives…
• Exotic feathers
• Animal skins (especially
Jaguar)
• Kiln-made Ceramics
• 150 – 250 miles

10. • Shamanism
– “Nahuales” - assumed powers of
certain animals
• Birth of mankind/gods - underground
• 10+ gods incl:
fire, rain, CORN/MAIZE,
Feathered Serpent…
• Tree of Life
• Snake Worship
• Jaguar as Spirit Guide/
Weir Jaguar

12. 17 Monolithic
Basalt Heads
• 50-60 miles
from source
• Floated on
Rivers?
• Kings as Ball
Players?

13. Olmec
Jade
Perferators
Self-sacrifice rites:
• Rulers
• Communication with
Ancestors
• Vital to sustain gods & world
• Jade Perferators
– Also Bone, Flint, Stingray
Spines, Shark Teeth…
•Height: 38 cm
Width: 3 cm

15. • Undeciphered
• Calendars
• Cylinder Seals

17. Olmec Math
• Long Count Calendar
dates to Sept. 3, 32 BCE
• Astronomy
• Concept of Zero
• 365-day year
• Math: Base 20

18. Guinea Pigs, Turkeys… Dogs
Xoloitzcuintli

19. • Irrigation
• Drainage / Aqueducts
• Kiln baked ceramics
• Pyramids
• Boats
• NO METALLURGY!
• NO WHEEL!
• RUBBER!

20. “The Ball Game” starts here!

21. Disappeared “Mysteriously”
Systematically destroyed their own
ceremonial centers?
• Deserted sites.
• Broken and buried
statues.

22. HUARI
Tihuanaco

24. The Lost Pyramids of Caral

25. The Lost Pyramids of Caral

26. II. Norte Chico/ Caral-Supe
• 3000 – 1800 BCE
– Same time as Egypt and Sumer
were developing
– 2000 years before Olmec- why?
• Central Coast of Peru
• Ruth Shady, 1997, Peruvian
Archaeologist

27. Norte Chico
• Cities- Small
• Some economic specialization
• Economy: Agriculture & ?
– Ag: Cotton
• Squash, beans, guava grown by inland people in
irrigated river valleys
– Trade: Sardines & Anchovies from coastal people for
Fishing Nets made of cotton
• No pottery, no writing…Quipu
• Few sculptures, carvings…Flutes!

29. Ancient American Civilization
Central America:
Olmec
1400 BCE- 400 BCE
• Math: Calendar, Writing
• Lived in low, swampy land
• Pyramids, Irrigation,
Drainage/Aqueducts
• Maize, Cacao
• Long Distance Trade -
Luxuries
• Jade artifacts, large basalt
heads, Were Jaguars,
Ceramics in Kilns
• Culture carried on to
Zapotecs, Teotihuacans and
Maya…
South America:
Norte Chico
3000 – 1800 BCE
• No writing, QUIPU!
• No pottery
• Mountains, foothills
• Agriculture: COTTON
• Long Distance Trade –
especially cotton for Fish with
coastal people
• Products: rope, flutes,
• Religious / Trade /
Entertainment Centers!
• Inca and others built on their
culture…