Katie's Blog: The Americas

The Americas lasted from 2000 BC to 1521 AD. In the time of the Americas, ceremonial centers became prominent structures of society. Symmetrical and balanced, even the housing was based off of these centers. I am going to focus on the Olmec civilization which was indeed a temple focused city type. Olmec was also the first major civilization in Mexico and came to a sudden end. The Olmecs were most known for their artwork they left behind. Olmec stone heads are among these pieces of artwork.

The Olmec stone heads represented rulers of the time and surrounded the temple area. These 40-50 ton boulders were found in the jungle and the helmets they seem to be wearing are similar to the helmets worn in the ballgame invented by the Mesoamerican people. I have another post with a video I found talking about how these boulders were considered to be a throne initially and then reused once a new ruler came about to carve their face into the throne. Not only did the Olmecs carve these boulders, but they also produced carvings of jade, rock crystal, and less valuable stone. Ax heads, masks and decorative objects as well as mural paintings and pottery were made. The pictures below were both sculptures made out of jade.

The Olmec civilization also was home to the oldest recorded ceremonial center, La Venta. It included the Great pyramid of Earth, a ball court, smaller pyramids, burial grounds, and giant stone heads.