1. The document summarizes the Olmec civilization, the earliest in Mesoamerica. It describes their culture, customs, agriculture, and religion. 2. It discusses important Olmec sites like San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Zapotes and notes that La Venta was an important ceremonial center while San Lorenzo is known for its colossal stone heads. 3. The Olmec are noted for their architectural achievements, including platforms and structures at sites. Their art also included colossal stone sculptures of humans and animals.

1. 1# Lucia Artigas 9-2
19.20

2. Outline
• 1)What is the Native People Group?
– Culture
– Customs
– Agriculture
– Religion
• 2) When did they Exist?
• 3) When was this famous site created and why?
– La Venta
How long did it take to complete?
– Tres Zapotes
– San Lorenzo Where is it located in present day now?
• Architecture
• Tourism
• Video
• Bibliography

3. Olmec, whose name means "people of the rubber
country" Rubber is a product of the. Also known as Mesoamerica
mother.As the first civilization in the area.
Native Group

4. Culture
•They invented a system of Vigesimal numbering.
•His government was theocratic.
•They were the first to build architectural projects.
•Watching the sky they could establish a schedule with duration of one year, the
lunar month, the agricultural cycle and the dates of religious ceremonies were
held.

5. Customs
• Attire: Men wear loincloths, layers, clay necklaces. The women used a
belt tight skirts, turbans, complicated headgear and masks.
• The turbans and headdresses are majestic and were used in
ceremonies, festivals and even sacrifices.

6. agricultur
• The planting system was Tala y Roza it was to use better the fertile
land.
• Tala: Cut trees and vegetation.
• Roza: burn the ground to leave a layer of nutrients by the crops
harvested after sow.
The land is exhausted after two or three stages, which is abandoned
and starts again in another area.

7. Religion.
• Polytheists.
• La Venta, and located in Veracruz, San Lorenzo and Tres Zapotes
where they did sacrifices. They believed that life does not end with
death.
•The most important deity was represented
in agriculture. Life was represented by a
jaguar "land" and a snake "water".

8. • The jaguar god: is the most important god, god of
life, represented by an animal half jaguar, half-serpent.
•Quetzalcoatl: god of rain, weather and corn. It is
represented as a feathered serpent.
•Huehueteotl old god, the
god of fire.

9. Preclásico
• In the early pre-classic period in Mesoamerican cultures were
established. The Olmec settlement dating from around 1500 BC ,
Culture declined around 500 B.C.

10. archaeological Sites : La Venta, San L
Lorenzo, Tres Zapotes
•From archaeological evidence it can be inferred that the ceremonial and ritual
life among the Olmecs had to be as intense as those of other cultural groups in
Mesoamerica consolidated.

11. La Venta:
• Ceremonial Olmec Centre.
• La Venta was inhabited by people of the Olmec Culture from 1200 BC
until 400 BC after which the site appears to have been abandoned. It is
believed to have been an important civic and ceremonial centre.
• Today, the entire southern end of the site is covered by a petroleum
refinery and has been largely demolished, making further excavations
difficult or impossible.

12. San Lorenzo:
• Early Olmec culture had emerged centred around the San Lorenzo
Tenochtitlán site near the coast in southeast Veracruz. They were the
first Mesoamerican civilization and laid many of the foundations for
the civilizations that followed. Among other "firsts", there is evidence
that the Olmec practiced ritual bloodletting and played the
Mesoamerican ballgame, hallmarks of nearly all subsequent
Mesoamerican societies.
• San Lorenzo is best known today for the colossal Olmec stone heads
unearthed there, the greatest of which weighs onwards of 40
tons (3) and is 3 metres high.

13. Tres Zapotes:
• (Olmec Capital).
• Located on the slopes of the Tuxtla mountains, this is
one of the most important Olmec cities, and the first
to be written about in 1868, along with the first
reports of colossal heads. Tres Zapotes is sometimes
referred to as the third Olmec Capital, as it followed
on the demise of both La Venta and San Lorenzo.
• Of particular interest to archaeology is that the site
was continuously inhabited for over 2000 years (1)

14. architecture
• The Olmec architecture is to build
platforms around a courtyard,
which houses and temples were
built
•Olmec artists distinguished themselves
in carving stone.
•Colossal heads carved, zoomorphic and
anthropomorphic sculptures, tombs,
altars with reliefs and huge tombs, and
sculptures that look human.
L

15. Tourism L
Ruta Olmeca
• It is characterized by the large number of nature that surrounds it, for its
extensive beaches and archeological remains of the Olmec culture ranging from
southern Veracruz west of Tabasco.

16. Video
•<iframe width="420" height="315"
src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r
7LuFltVhkY" frameborder="0"
allowfullscreen></iframe>
• Los Olmecas
• Subido por Sagrario y Jesús el 22/06/2008
• Cultura madre

17. Bibliography
• "Ruta Olmeca Rutas TurÃ-sticas En México." Ruta Olmeca.
N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.zonaturistica.com/rutas-
turisticas/ruta_olmeca.html%20%20>.
• "Tres Zapotes, Mexico." Tres Zapotes, Mexico. Ed. Alexander
Whitaker., N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2012. <http://www.ancient-
wisdom.co.uk/mexicotreszapotes.htm>.
• "Los Olmecas Periodo Preclasico." - Ensayos. N.p., n.d. Web.
23 Oct. 2012. <http://www.buenastareas.com/ensayos/Los-
Olmecas-Periodo-Preclasico/715302.html>.