Editing Olmecs (section)

{{short description|Earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox archaeological culture
| name         = Olmecs

| map          = Olmec Heartland Overview 4.svg
| mapcaption   = The [[Olmec heartland]], where the Olmec reigned from 1200 to 400&nbsp;BCE
| mapalt       =
| altnames     =
| horizon      = 
| region       = [[Veracruz]], Mexico
| period       = [[Mesoamerican chronology#Preclassic Era or Formative Period|Preclassic Era]]
| dates        = {{circa|1200}} – 400 BCE
| typesite     = [[San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán]]
| majorsites   = [[La Venta]], [[Tres Zapotes]], [[Laguna de los Cerros]]
| extra        =
| precededby   = [[Archaic period in Mesoamerica|Archaic Mesoamerica]]
| followedby   = [[Epi-Olmec culture|Epi-Olmecs]]
| definedby    =
| antiquatedby =
| module       =
}}
{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=225|caption_align=center
| align    = right
| direction =vertical
| header=Olmec artworks
| image1   = San Lorenzo Monument 3.jpg
| caption1 = Olmec Head No. 3 from [[San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán|San Lorenzo-Tenochtitlán]]; 1200–900&nbsp;BCE; [[basalt]]; height: 1.8 m, length: 1.28 m, width: 0.83 m; [[Xalapa Museum of Anthropology]] ([[Xalapa]], Mexico)
| image2 = Señor de las limas 2.jpg
| caption2 = [[Las Limas Monument 1|''El Señor de las Limas'']]; 1000–600 BCE; [[Greenstone (archaeology)|greenstone]]; height: 55 cm; Xalapa Museum of Anthropology
| image3 = 20041229-Luchador Olmeca (Museo Nacional de Antropología) MQ.jpg
| caption3 = ''[[The Wrestler (sculpture)|The Wrestler]]''; 1200–400 BCE; basalt; height: 66 cm, from the Arroyo Sonso area ([[Veracruz]], Mexico); Museo Nacional de Antropología. Olmec artists are known for both monumental and miniature portrayals of what are assumed to be persons of authority-from six-ton heads sculptures to [[Olmec figurine|figurines]].
}}
The '''Olmecs''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɒ|l|m|ɛ|k|s|,_|ˈ|oʊ|l|-}}) or '''Olmec''' were an early known major [[Mesoamerica]]n civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of [[Veracruz]] and [[Tabasco]] from roughly 1200 to 400&nbsp;[[Before the Common Era|BCE]] during Mesoamerica's [[Mesoamerican chronology|formative period]]. They were initially centered at the site of their development in [[San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán]], but moved to [[La Venta]] in the [[10th century BCE]] following the decline of San Lorenzo.<ref>{{cite book |last=Diehl |first=Richard A. |author-link=Richard Diehl |url=https://archive.org/details/olmecsamericasfi0000dieh/page/9 |title=The Olmecs : America's First Civilization |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=2004 |isbn=0-500-28503-9 |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/olmecsamericasfi0000dieh/page/9 9–25]}}</ref> The Olmecs disappeared mysteriously in the [[4th century BCE]], leaving the region sparsely populated until the 19th century.

Among other "firsts", the Olmec appeared to practice [[Bloodletting in Mesoamerica|ritual bloodletting]] and played the [[Mesoamerican ballgame]], hallmarks of nearly all subsequent Mesoamerican societies. The aspect of the Olmecs most familiar now is their artwork, particularly the [[Olmec colossal heads|colossal heads]].<ref>See, as one example, Diehl, p. 11.</ref> The Olmec civilization was first defined through artifacts which collectors purchased on the [[pre-Columbian art]] market in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Olmec artworks are considered among ancient America's most striking.<ref>See Diehl, p. 108 for the "ancient America" superlatives. The artist and archaeologist [[Miguel Covarrubias]] (1957) p. 50 says that Olmec pieces are among the world's masterpieces</ref>