The Olmec Heartland

An area now believed to be lying between the Two Salaah mountains, the Olmec principal site of La Venta and extending some 50 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico.

They began to discover Olmec artifacts far from the Gulf. Given the distance they were initially doubtful the ancient inhabitants were actually Olmec, figuring instead that they were finding remains from other Mesoamerican groups who had acquired Olmec objects through trade. Ultimately the realization that the Olmec had successfully established and maintained far-flung trade to acquire basalt, Jade, magnetite and serpentine. This provided the first significant insight into the workings of Olmec society, though far from clearly defined even today, it is apparent that the Olmec religious system influenced all successive Mesoamerican cultures.

The cultures influenced by the Olmec religious system included the Maya, Zapotec, Teotihuacan, o Toltec, Mixtec and Aztec up to and even beyond the arrival of the Spanish in 1519. This said their contribution to complex societal development in Mesoamerica and even the whole of Mexico is far more significant, watch this video to find out.

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