Telling the Story of the Olmec

Monument from La Venta

     The Olmec civilization was one of the most powerful and advanced civilizations in history.  "They were one of the first civilizations of the Americas.  They built the first pyramid in the first planned city in this part of the Americas.  Devised one of the earliest known systems of writing.  Believed their rulers had supernatural powers and played one of the world's oldest ball games" (Lost 0:45-1:06).  The Olmecs have well known landmarks that are very key to their history, like the Tres Zapotes or San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, however one of the most famous Olmec sites is the La Venta.  "It's monumental architecture and sculpture define it as one of the most important cities of the Olmec civilization,..." (Gonzalez Lauck 798).  Furthermore, "The archaeological remains at La Venta provide irrefutable evidence of the sophistication and complexity of the Olmec civilization" (Gonzalez Lauck 800).
 
     Some similarities between the text and video are both were very descriptive about their respective topics.  Also both sources, give information about La Venta.  A difference is the video explores the Olmec history in depth and covers a lot more history, whereas the text just discusses the La Venta site.  An interesting fact about La Venta is "not even one percent" of the site has been excavated scientifically (Lost 34:13-34:22).  However the excavations that have occurred have recovered "remains of corn, beans, palm nuts, deer, crocodile, turtle, dog, and a variety of fish bones and mollusks,..." (Gonzalez Lauck 799).

     I already knew some information about the Olmec sites thanks to the class lectures and notes.  However, I didn't know that the Olmec made the "largest and most thematically diverse corpus of Olmec monumental sculpture" (Gonzalez Lauck 800).  Also, I was unaware that the Olmecs were "immortalizing and empowering their rulers as half man, half jaguar beings" (Lost 49:04-49:13).  The Olmec were a one of a kind people, and I'm glad I was able to gain a new understanding of their sophisticated civilization.

An Olmec Colossal Head

Works Cited

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “La Venta.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 25 May 2018, www.britannica.com/place/La-Venta.

Minster, Christopher. “La Venta – Olmec Archaeology Site La Venta.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 5 Apr. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/the-olmec-city-of-la-venta-2136301.