Top Highlights

• In reality, the first people that managed to elevate themselves to civilized life were the Olmecs. They remain relatively unknown, hidden in the long and dark corridors of forgotten history. Most of their culture remains wrapped in mystery, which may explain why so few historians are ready to tackle the task of uncovering the true story of the Olme...
• Chapter 1 – Who Were the Olmecs? The most honest answer you’ll get for this question is “We are not exactly sure.” These people, known as the Olmecs, occupied southcentral parts of present-day Mexico, in what are today states of Veracruz and Tabasco, on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. They emerged in these tropical lowlands somewhere around 1400 ...
• Around 8,000 BCE, due to the changes in temperature and sea level which came with the end of the Ice Age, early settlers in present-day Mexico started to change their lifestyle. They started to rely more on domesticated plants as their main source of food. Yet, their tribal organization remained on a rather basic level, more similar to how we see p...
• At the same time, in similar circumstances like all others around them, the Olmecs started to build their civilization. In the beginning, around 1800-1700 BCE, they probably weren’t much different than other tribes around them, having something similar to chiefdoms which had both limited power and cultural development. But by the 1300s, the Olmecs ...
• Unlike San Lorenzo, archeologists are sure that the downfall of La Venta was a violent one, as they have found traces of a deliberate destruction of monuments and buildings. Although they aren’t quite sure if the attack came from outside forces or if it was some kind of uprising, most believe it was a foreign power that invaded La Venta, since it i...