Mesoamerica- Olmec - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Mesoamerica- Olmec

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Mesoamerica- Olmec Cecilia Shutt Grayson Gibson P-6 Cities San Lorenzo 1400-900 B.C.E. La Venta rose to prominence Main trade city that used the Coatzacoalocos river ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Mesoamerica- Olmec


1
Mesoamerica- Olmec
  • Cecilia Shutt
  • Grayson Gibson
  • P-6

2
Cities
  • San Lorenzo
  • 1400-900 B.C.E.
  • La Venta rose to prominence
  • Main trade city that used the Coatzacoalocos
    river basin
  • La Venta
  • 900-400 B.C.E.
  • Great Pyramid is the largest Mesoamerican
    structure
  • Harvested cocoa, rubber, and salt

3
Cities
  • Laguna de los Cerros
  • Harvested basalt
  • Used stone needed for making manos, metates
    (stones for grinding food), and other monuments

4
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5
Central Gov. and Law Codes
  • Didnt have an army
  • Used a hierarchical system
  • Little is known about the political structure of
    the Olmec society
  • Colossal heads represented rulers

6
Writing and Record Keeping
  • Thought to be the first civilization in the
    Western Hemisphere to develop writing system
  • Two languages spoken were Mixean and Zoquean
    (these two languages are thought to have come
    from Manding, which is spoken in West Africa
  • Documented Hieroglyphics were known as Epi-Olmec
    symbols

7
Specialized Jobs
  • Farmed with the slash-and-burn technique
  • Artists/Stone Carvers made many stone heads that
    have been the main artifact found in Olmec ruins
  • Priests and Shamans lead religious activities

8
Social Classes
  • Classes were divided into wealth and social
    statuses
  • The elite group lived in small urban centers
  • Mainly traded art and luxury items
  • The common people lived in rural areas
  • Farmed and hunted for a living

9
Complex Technologies
  • Invented the number zero
  • Used a 365 day calendar
  • Invented the compass

10
Highly Organized Religions
  • Believed in one major God along with ten other
    who were gods of fire, water, sun, war, fertility
    and sky
  • Were jaguar was the major God that was chosen
    because it was the most fearful and powerful
    animal
  • Rituals and sacrifices were preformed by priests,
    shamans, and other high rulers

11
BAM!!!
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