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What did the Olmec use for tools?
Tools were mostly made of stone and include basic items such as hammers, wedges, mortar-and-pestles and mano-and-metate grinders used for mashing corn and other grains. Obsidian was not native to the Olmec lands, but when it could be had, it made excellent knives.
Did the Olmec have a military?
The Olmecs were the first group in Mesoamerica with specialized weapons and personnel for war. Their homeland was in the lowlands along the Gulf coast in the Mexican provinces of Tabasco and Veracruz . Training was provided by warrior societies to a military elite. Atlatls (spear-throwers) were not yet a weapon of war.
What was Olmec technology?
In addition to their influence with contemporaneous Mesoamerican cultures, as the first civilization in Mesoamerica, the Olmecs are credited, or speculatively credited, with many “firsts”, including the bloodletting and perhaps human sacrifice, writing and epigraphy, and the invention of popcorn, zero and the …
How did the Olmec fall?
The Olmec population declined sharply between 400 and 350 BCE, though it is unclear why. Archaeologists speculate that the depopulation was caused by environmental changes, specifically by the silting-up of rivers, which choked off the water supply.
Who did the Olmecs worship?
We also know that they worshipped a sky-dragon and that they believed four dwarves held up the sky, possibly representing the four cardinal directions which, along with other Olmec gods, became so important in later Mesoamerican religions.
What kind of tools did the Olmec people use?
Tools were mostly made of stone and include basic items such as hammers, wedges, mortar-and-pestles and mano-and-metate grinders used for mashing corn and other grains. Obsidian was not native to the Olmec lands, but when it could be had, it made excellent knives.
Why did the Olmecs start to use warfare?
The lack of draft and pack animals, wheels, metallurgy, and ships in quantity and quality all led to developments different from those in Europe. The Olmecs (1200-400 B. C. E.) first used warfare to expand trade and access to resources.
When did the Olmec culture thrive in Mexico?
He is a former head writer at VIVA Travel Guides. The Olmec culture thrived along Mexico’s Gulf Coast from approximately 1200-400 B.C. The first great Mesoamerican culture, it had been in decline for centuries before the arrival of the first Europeans, therefore, much information about the Olmecs has been lost.
What kind of weapons did the Mesoamericans use?
Tortillas were also used to feed the hundreds of troops deployed in enemy territory. By 400, trophy heads, stone knives, obsidian-tip spears, spear throwers, wood shields, upper-torso armor, and hide helmets were common for elites and, to a lesser extent, for supporting commoner forces.