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Olmec

The Olmec mask in The Met Collection. Public Domain.

Uncovering the Met’s 3,000-Year-Old Olmec Mask (Video)

This ancient Olmec face, on display at the Met, stands as a remarkable exhibit that underscores the enduring power of art and the intriguing craftsmanship of the Olmec culture. While commonly labeled...
Olmec stone head. Source: marmoset / Adobe Stock.

The Olmecs: Mesoamerica’s Forgotten Mother Culture (Video)

Long before the Maya and Aztecs rose to prominence, the Olmec civilization flourished in Mexico and Central America, leaving behind an enduring legacy. Often hailed as the " mother culture " of...
Carvings on the peak of the El Castillo pyramid (Structure A6) at Xunantunich, Belize (cjuneau /CC BY-SA 2.0)

11,000 Years Of Ancient Culture In Belize

Not even 50 years ago, Belize, in Central America, gained independence on September 21, 1981, but its history dates back to 9,000 years. In prehistory the territory was home to several ancient...
Sketch of the Chalcaltzingo Project 2008. Source: Courtesy of Mario Córdova/INAH

Mexican Government Recovers One Ton Olmec Statue Of “Earth Monster”

Mexican officials have announced the recovery of a large carved statue from the Olmec period that was allegedly stolen decades ago - a sculpture known as ‘Monument 9’. It is colloquially known as an...
The complex Mesoamerican calendars have fascinated for centuries. New LiDar surveys provide evidence that they were used much earlier than previously thought. Source: Frenta / Adobe Stock

Lasers Map Mysteries of the Maya Calendar, Centuries Older than Thought

Renowned for their precision, vision, and place in time, Mesoamerican calendars have long been held up as an example of the early advancement of the civilizations of the indigenous people of North,...
Fantasy image of a lost civilization underwater.	Source: Максим Горбанев/ Adobe Stock

Nine Civilizations That Met Mysterious (and Unfortunate) Ends

One of the most fascinating subjects to study throughout history is the rise and fall of various civilizations. While in some cases we have an understanding of the evolution and downfall of these...
Replica of a sculpture made by the Olmecs, the ancient rubber people of Mesoamerica. Source: Stoica / Adobe Stock

The Ancient Rubber People of Mesoamerica

Ancient civilizations in Mexico and Central America were making rubber decades before Michelin ever entered into business. For the Aztecs, Maya, and Olmecs, rubber production was a central part of...
Olmec and Maya architecture have more than a few things in common as has been recently revealed by a massive LiDAR survey project in southern Mexico. The Olmecs came first but the Mayas copied their approach to ritual architecture. This image shows a Maya building in the Lamanai archaeological reserve in Belize.		Source: vadim.nefedov / Adobe Stock

Aerial Survey Reveals Hundreds of Olmec and Maya Sites in Mexico

Researchers from the University of Arizona recently completed a groundbreaking and breathtaking aerial survey of large areas of southern Mexico that were once occupied by Olmec and Maya civilizations...
Giant Face of Ucanha: Giant Sculpted Mayan Mask Found in Mexico

Giant Face of Ucanha: Huge Sculpted Mayan Mask Found in Mexico

In the southeastern Mexican state of Yucatán on the Yucatán Peninsula, an archaeological team digging at a lightly explored site near the tiny, picturesque village of Ucanha uncovered something...
Cerro Gordo Standing Sentinel Over Teotihuacan

Cerro Gordo Standing Sentinel Over Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan was by the fifth century AD the largest city in the American continent and one of the largest and most populous in the western hemisphere. Often called the ‘Rome of America’, its cultural...
Chinese Votive Sword Found in Georgia

Chinese Votive Sword Found in Georgia suggests Pre-Columbian Chinese travel to North America

In July 2014, an avocational surface collector chanced across a partially exposed Chinese votive sword behind roots in an eroded bank of a small stream in Georgia. The 30 cm artifact is possibly a...
Mesoamerican ball game players

Danger on the Court: The Deadly Ancient Mesoamerican Ball Game

The Mesoamerican ball game is the oldest known team sport in the world. It was practiced by ancient Pre-Columbian cultures of Central America and played almost a millennium before the establishment...
One of the two stone monuments found in Guatemala.

Monuments Depicting Olmec 'Descent of the Grandfather' Myth and the Rise of Mayan Writing Found in Guatemala

Two large carved stone monuments found in an archaeological park in the Central American country of Guatemala have proven to be more significant than originally believed. The finds were made in the...
Representation of ancient Mesoamerican ballgame court in Mexico.  Source: smoke666 / Adobe stock

Ancient Ball Courts Found in Mexico Rewrite Deadly Ballgame’s History

In Mexico , two ancient ball courts have been found in a remote highland area. This is forcing experts to rethink how an important ballgame and cultural practice emerged in ancient Mexico. The...
Cotzumalguapa: Evidence of Pre-Columbian Transoceanic Contact

Cotzumalguapa: Evidence of Pre-Columbian Transoceanic Contact

Thousands of years ago, an unknown culture carved and raised hundreds of stone stelas and sculptures on the Pacific coast of southern Guatemala. Together, they provide some of the strongest evidence...
Chichén Itzá’s shadow revealed during the spring equinox on Kukulcán.

Chichen Itza's Shadows: Unexpected Light Shed on Ancient Maya

What we see is not always what we expect, whether from nature or man-made. This is often true with archaeological remains of cities or human settlement, when new discoveries shed unexpected light on...
A depiction of Quetzalcoatl as a feathered serpent in Teotihuacan

Quetzalcoatl: From Feathered Serpent to Creator God

Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent or ‘plumed serpent’, was one of the most important gods in the ancient Mesoamerican pantheon. The name Quetzalcoatl is a combination of two Nahuatl (the language of...
A Maya lord forbids an individual from touching a container of chocolate

The Ancient History of Chocolate, Gift of the Gods

In today’s society, chocolate is a popular treat, and comes in many forms, including blocks, paste and powder. Several centuries ago, however, chocolate was considered a luxury item, and came only in...
San Lorenzo Colossal Head 1, Olmec culture, Museo de Antropología de Xalapa, Mexico.

6 Discoveries that Show the Pre-Columbian Americas Traded Across the Oceans

Ancient civilizations look ever-more advanced with each passing year as new discoveries continue to showcase just how sophisticated they truly were. Yet, the idea that our ancestors were able to make...
Mesoamerican ballgame latterly known as ‘Ulama’, using ‘Hipball’ rules

Playing Ball in Ancient Belize: 1,300-year-old Stone Panels Depicting Mayan Ballplayers Revealed

Archaeologists have deciphered two 1,300-year-old stone panels that depict ancient Mayans playing with large balls while carrying impressive fans. The panels were found at the archaeological site of...
The Lost Knowledge of the Ancients: Were Humans the First? Part 4

The Lost Knowledge of the Ancients: Were Humans the First?

Archaeologists and historians have produced a number of curious finds which still await a logical explanation. The story of man will appear in a different light if the answers are ever found. If the...
Famous stone head of the Olmec civilization.

Is the Cascajal Tablet the Key to Understanding Giant Olmec Heads?

Bryan Hilliard’s “Does the Cascajal Block provide evidence of a written language of the Olmecs?” published by Ancient Origins, discussed the finding by many Mexican researchers that the symbols on...
Examples of Olmec art.

What Makes the Olmec Culture So Unique and Alluring?

The Olmecs were the first true Mesoamerican civilization. There were small villages and groups of people in the area in which the Olmec developed but these societies are referred to as Pre-Olmec. The...
Hidden in the Glyphs: Deciphering Bilingual Mayan-Olmec Text

Hidden in the Glyphs: Deciphering Bilingual Mayan-Olmec Text

In my book, Olmec Language and Literature , I explain how I deciphered the Olmec language. One of the most important documents used in my research was a Bi-lingual Mayan-Olmec text inscribed on a...

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