The Olmec pre-Columbian people

Olmecs were the early civilization of the Central America that consisted of the great number of villages that flourished on the banks of the Gulf of Mexico. There are no exact data on the Olmecs origins and some scientists prefer the theory that these are the local farmers that turned into the tribes and later in the cultural society. And according to other people Olmecs are the result of migration of local tribes.

The high level of the development of their civilization became the clue moment for their success. The villages of Olmecs were founded mainly along the banks of the rivers that guaranteed the fertile lands at that time.

All ceremonial centres of Olmecs were the complexes of platforms that had the ceremonial palaces, hills, stone statues and a lot of pyramids. The big stone heads were the most extraordinary products of the architectural development. They reach the height 3 meters and were supposedly the pictures of the ruling families and Olmec aristocracy.

Trade was playing an important role and was centred in the ceremonial centres. There were even local trade systems as well as systems of regional character.

The Olmec priests invented the 260 days calendar and the complex of beliefs that included the mythological creation that turned into the jaguar and the firing snake. They were also great masters in sculpture.