100

 CE  
North  South-­America  
 
Introduction  
Around   2000   BC   the   "Pre-­‐Classic   Age"   of   Middle   America   traditionally   begins,  
although   some   sources   make   it   start   around   2500BC   based   on   the   earliest   Maya  
carbon  dating  on  the  oriental  side  of  Yucatan.  The  latter  is   supported  by  the  results  
of   excavation   in   Belize,   dating   Maya   origins   around   2500BC   (1).   Hammond   and  
colleagues   describe   a   pottery   called   "Swash"   found   in   burial   sites   with   human  
skeletons.   Furthermore,   adults   show   tooth   wear,   suggesting   abrasives   in   the   diet:  
grit  from  corn,  probably.  
More  South,  in  Central  America  maize-­‐farming  was  the  standard  by  1500  BC  and  the  
farmers   lived   in   permanent   villages.   By   the   same   date   in   the   Tehuacan   Valley   of  
Mexico,   there   was   complex   village   life,   pottery,   elaborated   religious   rituals   and  
intricate  social  organization.    
Each  village  contained  ten  to  twenty  houses,  each  representing  a  single  family  unit,  
all   opening   into   a   common   plaza.   Recent   excavations   in   northern   Yucatan   indicate  
that   sites   containing   the   largest   Mayan   cities   of   600CE   or   later   had   been  
continuously  occupied  since  1500  BC.  Thus  Mayan  people  lived  there  with  an  ever-­‐
increasing  level  of  civilization  for  over  2000  years.  
However,   around   1500BC   the   Olmecs   arose   suddenly   in   the   region   boosting   the  
evolution   of   local   cultures.   The   question   of   pre-­‐Columbian   contacts   with   America  
has   risen   particularly   regarding   this   advanced,   suddenly   appearing   Olmec  
civilization.  
 
Society,  technology  and  medicine  
Olmecs  apparently  appeared  suddenly,  without  known  antecedents.  
Olmecs   were   the   first   Meso-­‐Americans   to   handle   large   masses   of   stone   in  
monumental   sculptures   and   they   are   considered   responsible   for   extending   the  
growth   of   maize   in   that   area.   Olmecs   were   an   hereditary   ruling   class   who   promoted  
efficient   farming   techniques,   long   distance   trade   networks,   large   temples   and   public  
buildings,  fine  art,  an  official  state  religion  and  social  stratification.  
 
Like   the   Egyptians,   the   Olmecs   wrote   in   hieroglyphs,   developed   a   calendar   and  
predicted  the  movements  of  planets.  They  built  flat-­‐topped  pyramids  similar  to  the  
ziggurats   of   Mesopotamia   and   decorated   those   with   basreliefs   showing   priests   with  
Sumeric  faces  and  long  beards  (2).  
There  is  even  some  botanical  evidence  of  European  contact.  The  Olmec  successors  
wore   garments   from   a   strain   of   cotton   that   seemed   to   be   a   cross   between   a   local,  
wild   type   and   the   long-­‐staple   Egyptian   cotton.   The   Egyptian   variety   has   13   large  
chromosomes   and   the   American   cotton   had   13   small   chromosomes   per   cell:   the  
cotton  used  for  cloth  by  the  Olmecs  was  a  hybrid  of  the  two  and  contained  twenty-­‐
six  chromosomes,  13  small  and  13  large.  
It  is  disputed  whether  the  Olmecs  are  the  results  of  the  colonization  of  Phoenician  or  
Egyptian   origin,   settling   at   the   terminus   of   the   strong   Atlantic   Canary   Current,  
flowing  from  Africa  through  the  Canary  Islands  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  at  the  base  of  
the  Yucatan  peninsula  (2).  
 
Heyerdahl   (3)   lists   more   than   50   examples   of   similarities   to   civilizations   of   Asia  
Minor   (e.g.   Hittite),   Cyprus   and   Crete   and   the   Olmecs.   These   include   priest-­‐king  
dynasties  in  sun-­‐worshipping  cults,  brother-­‐sister  royal  marriages,  fully  developed  
script   writing,   paper   manufacture   from   vegetable   fibers,   stone   masonry   of   great  
accuracy  without  the  use  of  mortar  and  with  methods  of  long  range  transportation  
of   gigantic   stone   blocks,   colossal   stone   statues,   repetitive   representations   of   a  
bearded  man  less  fighting  a  giant  snake  standing  on  its  tail  (all  true  Amerindians  of  
Siberian   origin   are   beardless),   a   bird-­‐man   standing   on   a   plumed   serpent,  
construction   of   ziggurat   types   of   pyramids,   mummification   of   deceased   royalty,  
trepanning   of   skulls,   circumcision   as   a   religious   ritual,   cities   of   adobe   houses  
separated   by   streets   and   with   water   and   sewer   systems,   large   scale   terrace  
agriculture   with   irrigation   and   fertilizers,   similar   cotton   looms   and   garments,  
identical   leather   and   rope   sandals   even   if   useless   in   the   tropical   swamps,   feather  
crowns   used   by   nobles,   similar   organization   of   standing   armies   and   weaponry,  
similar   tools   and   utensils,   use   of   red   dyes   from   mollusks,   identical   stages   of  
metallurgy   with   excellent   gold   work,   ceramic,   colored   funeral   ware   representing  
clay  models  of  daily  life,  as  well  as  a  universal  female  goddess,  stamped  seals,  curved  
wooden  figurines,  understanding  of  the  "zero"  concept,  remarkably  high  standard  of  
calendar   system   and   finally   the   same   ocean-­‐going   reed   ships   with   canvas   sail  
hoisted  on  a  double-­‐legged  mast.    
 
In   any   case,   the   Olmec   civilization   was   a   center   for   controlling   the   trade   of   highland  
raw  materials,  such  as  obsidian,  jade,  iron  and  cotton,  and  channeling  these  on  to  the  
Gulf   coast   centers.   Contacts   with   nearby   Oaxaca   seem   to   have   stimulated   cultural  
growth   there,   as   well.   Within   a   few   centuries,   Oaxaca,   with   its   vastly   greater  
resources   and   richer   agricultural   possibilities,   with   irrigation,   actually   began   to   be  
the  dominant  partner  (4).  
 
Rough  history  in  10  points  
n/a  
 
3  people  of  the  time  
n/a  
 
Anecdote  
The  origin  of  the  Olmec  people  is  attributed  to  the  mating  of  a  jaguar  with  a  proto-­‐
Olmec   woman.   Kennedy   (5)   argues   whether   the   iconography   suggests   a   toad-­‐like  
deity  instead.  
 
A  remarkable  finding  worth  mentioning  from  the  time  
Mesoamerican  populations  are  known  to  have  played  a  ball  game.  The  game  used  a  
rubber  ball  and  was  played  in  stone  ball  courts.  Players  were  divided  into  two  teams  
and  faced  each  other  across  the  center  of  the  court.  These  players  could  not  touch  
the   rubber   ball   with   their   hands,   instead,   they   wore   heavy   leather   and   wood   over  
the  places  where  they  could  strike  the  ball:  their  hips  and  knees.  Their  hands  were  
also  protected  against  scraping.  A  team  scored  points  when  the  opposing  team  failed  
to   return   the   ball   or   when   the   ball   was   launched   into   the   opponents’   end   zone.   In  
some  cases,  stone  or  wood  rings  were  placed  into  the  sides  of  the  court.  If  a  player  
launched  the  ball  through  the  hole  in  the  ring  immediately  won  the  game.  
An  exciting  spectator  game,  the  information  has  been  gathered  from  bas-­‐reliefs  on  
stone  benches  designed  to  host  the  public  during  the  matches.  
 
References:  
1. N.   Hammond   -­‐   The   dawn   and   the   dusk:   beginning   and   ending   a   long-­term  
research   program   at   the   Preclassic   Maya   site   of   Cuello,   Belize   -­‐  
ANTHROPOLOGICAL  NOTEBOOKS  11:  45–60.  ISSN  1408-­‐032X  
2. T.  Heyerdahl  -­‐  Early  Man  and  the  Ocean.  -­‐  New  York,  1979  
3. W.M.  Bray,  E.H.  Swanson,  I.S.  Farrington  –  The  new  world  -­‐  Oxford:  Elsevier,  
1975  
4. DC   Grove   -­‐   "Archeological   Investigations   at   Chalcatzingo,   1972,   1973."   -­‐  
National  Geographic  Reports,  1971,  National  Geographic  Society,  Washington  
D.C  
5. A.B.   Kennedy   –   “Ecce   Bufo:   The   Toad   in   Nature   and   in   Olmec   Iconography”   -­‐  
Current  Anthropology,  Vol.  23,  No.  3  (Jun.,  1982)  
6. K  Blanchard,  AT  Cheska  –  “The  anthropology  of  sport”  -­‐  Handbook  of  sports  
studies,  2002