The Americas first urban Civilizations

  What did you think of “The Riddle of the Olmec Heads”?  What would you have done if you found a giant head buried under ground?  Which culture did you compare the Olmec to? Take out HW

  Define urban and civilization in your vocabulary section.  THINK: What does it mean to be urban? Can you think of an example of an urban area?  THINK: What attributes make a civilization? Do Now Urban- A city or large town. Civilization- An advanced human society in which a high level of culture, science, industry and government has been reached.

  BC The Olmec form America’s first advanced civilization.  Centered around the southern Gulf Coast of Mexico (Today Veracruz and Tabasco).  Little information has been preserved about the Olmec.  Some believe the Olmec culture arose from Middle America, others believe the Olmec may have come from Africa. Background

 Plot the Olmec into your Civilizations of the Americas Map

  Most Olmec lived in small villages.  Religious and government centers formed larger towns, with temples and plazas.  The largest urban area was San Lorenzo, many Olmec stone heads have been found. Olmec Urbanization

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  The existence of buildings, sculptures, writing, astronomy and religion mark the Olmec as the first complex civilization in the Americas.  The Olmec were known for their pyramid style temples, which became popular with later Middle American civilizations (such as the Aztecs). Olmec Civilization

  Also known for their huge stone head sculptures.  Archaeologists believe that the large heads represent Olmec rulers.  The Olmec may have created the first writing system in the Americas.  Artifacts depicting symbols lead archaeologists to believe that the Olmec created a pictorial writing system. Olmec Civilization

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  Astronomy was used to create a calendar that recorded the Olmec’s religious dates and events.  The Olmec were polytheistic, and used the jaguar as the symbol of their most important god.  Olmec religion most likely influenced Mayan & Aztec beliefs. Olmec Civilization

  The Olmec people had a large trade network.  Through trade with far away peoples, the Olmec were able to obtain valuable goods such as stones they used for building and sculptures.  Many religious artifacts were carved from jade, and the heads were sculpted from volcanic rock basalt.  Both types of stone are not native to the Olmec area, they were imported through trade. Olmec Civilization

  Trade spread the Olmec culture throughout Middle America, and influences of the Olmec traditions can be seen within Mayan and Aztec culture. Olmec Civilization

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