Editing Olmecs (section)

==Overview==
The [[Olmec heartland]] is the area in the [[Gulf of Mexico|Gulf]] lowlands where it expanded after early development in [[Soconusco, Veracruz|Soconusco]], Veracruz. This area is characterized by swampy lowlands punctuated by low hills, ridges, and volcanoes. The [[Sierra de los Tuxtlas]] rises sharply in the north, along the Gulf of Mexico's [[Bay of Campeche]]. Here, the Olmec constructed permanent city-temple complexes at [[San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán]], [[La Venta]], [[Tres Zapotes]], and [[Laguna de los Cerros]]. In this region, the first Mesoamerican civilization emerged and reigned from {{circa|1400–400}}&nbsp;BCE.<ref>Dates from Pool, p. 1. Diehl gives a slightly earlier date of 1500&nbsp;BCE (p. 9), but the same end-date. Any dates for the start of the Olmec civilization or culture are problematic as its rise was a gradual process. Most Olmec dates are based on radiocarbon dating (see e.g. Diehl, p. 10), which is only accurate within a given range (e.g. ±90 years in the case of early [[El Manatí]] layers), and much is still to be learned concerning early Gulf lowland settlements.</ref>

===Origins===
{{Main|San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán}}
Pre-Olmec cultures had flourished since about 2500&nbsp;BCE, and it has been speculated that the Olmecs derived in part from the neighboring [[Mokaya]] or [[Mixe–Zoque languages|Mixe–Zoque]] cultures which developed during this time.<ref>See Pool (2007) p. 2. Although there is wide agreement that the Olmec culture helped lay the foundations for the civilizations that followed, there is disagreement over the extent of the Olmec contributions, and even a proper definition of the Olmec "culture". See "[[Olmec influences on Mesoamerican cultures]]" for a deeper treatment of this question.</ref> The beginnings of Olmec civilization have traditionally been placed between [[14th century BC|1400 BCE]] and [[12th century BC|1200 BCE]]. Past finds of Olmec remains ritually deposited at the shrine [[El Manatí]] near the triple archaeological sites known collectively as [[San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán]] moved this back to at least [[16th century BC|1600–1500&nbsp;BCE]].<ref>Richard A Diehl, 2004, The Olmecs – America's First Civilization London: Thames & Hudson, pp. 25, 27.</ref> It seems that the Olmec had their roots in early farming cultures of [[Tabasco]], which began between [[5100 BCE]] and [[4600 BCE]]. These shared the same basic food crops and technologies of the later Olmec civilization.<ref>Diehl, 2004: pp. 23–24.</ref>

What is today called Olmec first appeared fully within San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, where distinctive Olmec features occurred around 1400&nbsp;BCE. The rise of civilization was assisted by the local ecology of well-watered [[alluvial]] soil, as well as by the transportation network provided by the [[Coatzacoalcos River|Coatzacoalcos]] river basin. This environment may be compared to that of other ancient centers of civilization such as the [[Nile]], [[Indus River|Indus]], [[Yellow River]] and [[Mesopotamia]]. This highly productive environment encouraged a densely concentrated population, which in turn triggered the rise of an elite class.<ref>{{cite book | last = Beck | first = Roger B. | author2 = Linda Black | author3 = Larry S. Krieger | author4 = Phillip C. Naylor| author5 = Dahia Ibo Shabaka | title = World History: Patterns of Interaction | publisher = McDougal Littell | year = 1999 | location = Evanston, IL | url =https://archive.org/details/mcdougallittellw00beck| url-access = registration | isbn = 0-395-87274-X }}</ref> The elite class created the demand for the production of the symbolic and sophisticated luxury artifacts that define Olmec culture.<ref>Pool, pp. 26–27, provides a great overview of this theory, and says: "The generation of food surpluses is necessary for the development of social and political hierarchies and there is no doubt that high agricultural productivity, combined with the natural abundance of aquatic foods in the Gulf lowlands supported their growth."</ref> Many of these luxury artifacts were made from materials such as [[Jade use in Mesoamerica|jade]], [[Obsidian use in Mesoamerica|obsidian]], and [[magnetite]], which came from distant locations and suggest that early Olmec elites had access to an extensive trading network in Mesoamerica. The source of the most valued jade was the [[Motagua River]] valley in eastern [[Guatemala]],<ref>Pool, p. 151.</ref> and Olmec obsidian has been traced to sources in the Guatemala highlands, such as El Chayal and [[San Martín Jilotepeque]], or in [[Puebla (state)|Puebla]],<ref>Diehl, p. 132, or Pool, p. 150.</ref> distances ranging from 200 to 400&nbsp;km (120–250 miles) away, respectively.<ref name="Pool, p. 103">Pool, p. 103.</ref>

The state of [[Guerrero]], and in particular its early [[Mezcala culture]], seem to have played an important role in the early history of Olmec culture. Olmec-style artifacts tend to appear earlier in some parts of Guerrero than in the Veracruz-Tabasco area. In particular, the relevant objects from the Amuco-Abelino site in Guerrero reveal dates as early as [[1530s BC|1530 BCE]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Evans|first1=Susan Toby|author-link1=Susan Toby Evans|last2=Webster|first2=David L.|author-link2=David L. Webster|title=Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZ3DAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA315|year=2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-136-80185-3|page=315}}</ref> 

===La Venta===
{{main|La Venta}}
[[Image:La Venta Pirámide cara sur.jpg|thumb|Great pyramid in [[La Venta]], [[Tabasco]]]]
The first Olmec center, San Lorenzo, was all but abandoned around [[900s BC|900&nbsp;BCE]] at about the same time that La Venta rose to prominence.<ref>Diehl, p. 9.</ref> Widespread destruction of many San Lorenzo monuments also occurred around the 950s BCE, which may indicate an internal uprising or, less likely, an invasion.<ref>Coe (1967), p. 72. Alternatively, the mutilation of these monuments may be unrelated to the decline and abandonment of San Lorenzo. Some researchers believe that the mutilation had ritualistic aspects, particularly since most mutilated monuments were reburied in a row.</ref> The latest thinking, however, is that environmental changes may have been responsible for this shift in Olmec centers, with certain important rivers changing course.<ref>Pool, p. 135. Diehl, pp. 58–59, 82.</ref>

Following the decline of San Lorenzo, La Venta became the most prominent Olmec center, lasting from 900&nbsp;BCE until its abandonment around 400&nbsp;BCE.<ref>Diehl, p. 9. Pool gives dates 1000&nbsp;BCE&nbsp;– 400&nbsp;BCE for La Venta.</ref> La Venta sustained the Olmec cultural traditions with spectacular displays of power and wealth. The [[La Venta#Complex C (The Great Pyramid)|Great Pyramid]] was the largest Mesoamerican structure of its time. Even today, after 2500 years of erosion, it rises {{convert|34|m|abbr=on}} above the naturally flat landscape.<ref>Pool, p. 157.</ref> Buried deep within La Venta lay opulent, labor-intensive "offerings"&nbsp;– 1000 tons of smooth [[Serpentine group|serpentine]] blocks, large mosaic pavements, and at least 48 separate [[votive offering]]s of polished jade [[celt (tool)|celts]], pottery, figurines, and [[hematite]] [[Mirrors in Mesoamerican culture|mirrors]].<ref>Pool, p. 161–162.</ref>

===Decline===
Scholars have yet to determine the cause of the eventual extinction of the Olmec culture. Between [[4th century BC|400 and 350&nbsp;BCE]], the population in the eastern half of the Olmec heartland dropped precipitously, and the area was sparsely inhabited until the 19th century.<ref>Diehl, p. 82. Nagy, p. 270, however, is more circumspect, stating that in the [[Grijalva river]] delta, on the eastern edge of the heartland, "the local population had significantly declined in apparent population density&nbsp;... A low-density Late Preclassic and Early Classic occupation ... may have existed; however, it remains invisible."</ref> According to archaeologists, this depopulation was probably the result of "very serious environmental changes that rendered the region unsuited for large groups of farmers", in particular changes to the riverine environment that the Olmec depended upon for agriculture, hunting and gathering, and transportation. These changes may have been triggered by [[tectonic]] upheavals or subsidence, or the [[siltation]] of rivers due to agricultural practices.<ref>Quote and analysis from Diehl, p. 82, echoed in other works such as Pool.</ref>

One theory for the considerable population drop during the Terminal Formative period is suggested by Santley and colleagues (Santley et al. 1997), who propose the relocation of settlements due to volcanism, instead of extinction. Volcanic eruptions during the Early, Late and Terminal Formative periods would have blanketed the lands and forced the Olmec to move their settlements.<ref>Vanderwarker (2006) pp. 50–51</ref>

Whatever the cause, within a few hundred years of the abandonment of the last Olmec cities, successor cultures became firmly established. The Tres Zapotes site, on the western edge of the Olmec heartland, continued to be occupied well past [[400 BCE]], but without the hallmarks of the Olmec culture. This post-Olmec culture, often labeled the [[Epi-Olmec culture|Epi-Olmec]], has features similar to those found at [[Izapa]], some {{convert|550|km}} to the southeast.<ref>Coe (2002), p. 88.</ref>