The mythology of the Olmec people significantly influenced the social development and mythological world view of Mesoamerica. As there is no surviving direct account of Olmec religious belief, much remains unknown on the subject. None the less, some observations can be made, mostly based on surviving art and archeology, and by comparison to later, better documented, peoples of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica whose religious art uses similar motifs. It has been suggested that Myth be merged into this article or section. ... The Olmec were an ancient people living in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, roughly in what are the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. ... Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the African discovery of the New World by Columbus. ... Resources ArtLex. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ...

The height of Olmec culture, generally centered in the modern Mexican state of Veracruz, is currently dated from 1200 BCE to about 800 BCE. The Olmec continued well beyond this period, establishing monuments and communities until 400 BCE. Some scholars assert the Olmec existed as a distinct people until nearly 100 BCE. The Olmec developed a hieroglyphic script for their language, the earliest known example dating from 650 BCE. However surviving Olmec texts are few and the meaning of many of their glyphs remains obscure compared to the much more plentiful and better understood later Maya hieroglyphics. Archaeologists believe that the Olmec and their culture were ancestral to later Mesoamerican peoples, including the Maya civilization, the inhabitants of the city of Teotihuacan, and the modern Mayan speaking groups. Others, including the Toltec and the Aztec, may not have descended from the Olmecs but were heavily influenced by their culture. Veracruz is the name of both a state in Mexico and that states largest city. ... Maya hieroglyphics is the system of writing used by the pre-Columbian Maya people to record the Maya language. ... This article is about the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. ... Teotihuacan was the largest Pre-Columbian known city in the Americas, and the name Teotihuacan is used to refer to the civilization this city dominated, which at its greatest extent included most of Mesoamerica. ... The Toltecs (or Toltec or Tolteca) were a Pre-Columbian Native American people who dominated much of central Mexico between the 10th and 12th century AD. Their language, Nahuatl, was also spoken by the Aztecs. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

One of the best known middle to late Olmec sites, La Venta in the state of Tabasco, contains representations of several apparently mythological figures. These representations, generally dating from 800 to 400 BCE, include a feathered serpent, a man of crops with corn growing out of his head and a rain spirit in the guise of a dwarf or child. Similar images are frequently found in the myths of later cultures in the area. La Venta is the name of a Pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Olmec civilization. ... This article refers to Tabasco state; for the condiment see Tabasco sauce Other Mexican States Capital Villahermosa Other major cities List of municipalities Area 25,267 km² Ranked 24th Population (2000 census) 1,889,370 Ranked 20th Governor (2001-07) Manuel Andrade Díaz (PRI) Federal Deputies (6) PRI = 6...

Feathered Serpent

The mythological figure of the feathered or plumed serpent depicted throughout North America and Mesoamerica probably originated in Olmec times. In later traditions the Quetzal Feathered Serpent deity was known as the inventor of books and the calendar, the giver of maize corn to mankind, and sometime as a symbol of death and resurrection, often associated with the planet Venus. The Maya knew him as Kukulkán; the Quiché as Gukumatz. The Toltecs portrayed the plumed serpent as Quetzalcoatl, the rival of Tezcatlipoca. Art and iconography clearly demonstrate the importance of the Feathered Serpent Deity in Classic era as well as Olmec art. World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west... Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the African discovery of the New World by Columbus. ... Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ... (*min temperature refers to cloud tops only) Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 9. ... Quetzalcoatl (feathered snake, in Nahuatl: Ketsalkoatl, in Spanish: Quetzalcóatl) is the Nahuatl name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerica, one of the main gods of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations. ... In Maya mythology, Gukumatz (feathered serpent) was a snake god, one of all three groups of gods who created Earth and humanity. ... Quetzalcoatl (feathered snake, in Nahuatl: Ketsalkoatl, in Spanish: Quetzalcóatl) is the Nahuatl name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerica, one of the main gods of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations. ... In Nahuatl mythology, Tezcatlipoca (smoking mirror) was the god of the night, the north and temptation. ... Mesoamerican chronology The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras: Paleo-Indian Period c. ...

Jaguar

The Olmec carved distinctive human figures in stone, some of monumental size. Smaller items were carved from fine jade and jadeite, including many human figures with strong jaguar features. As the jaguar was an indigenous predator in the area, jaguar figures may visually represent an Olmec myth about the interaction of the jaguar or a jaguar spirit with human beings. In this myth, a jaguar may have copulated with a human female and thus given rise to these "were-jaguars," represented as both young children and male adults. These figures, with distinctive "snarling mouths, toothless gums or long, curved fangs, and even claws" (Coe 2002:64), are most often infantile and depicted with a cleft forehead. As the jaguar, too, has a cleft running vertically the length of its head, the Olmec may have assigned infants born with this characteristic with jaguar-like qualities, and perhaps revered them. In addition, two were-jaguars are depicted on Altar 5 at La Venta as being carried out from a niche or cave (places often associated with the emergence of human beings). These may be mythic hero twins essential to Olmec and later MesoAmerican mythology (Coe 2002:75-76). A selection of antique, hand-crafted Chinese jadeite jade buttons Jade An ornamental stone, jade is a name applied to two different silicate minerals. ... Binomial name Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large member of the cat family native to warm regions of America. ...

The image of the jaguar is pervasive in later Maya heiroglyphs and the word B'alam, jaguar, is an element in the names of mythical heroes and some Mayan rulers. In Mayan mythology, the Bacabs were believed to be jaguar gods. They were the four sons of the gods, Itzamna and Ixchel. The Bacabs held the sky up in each of the four directions, and each was associated with a color. See Jaguars in Mesoamerican culture. Maya mythology refers to the pre-Columbian Maya civilizations extensive polytheistic religious beliefs. ... Maya mythology refers to the pre-Columbian Maya civilizations extensive polytheistic religious beliefs. ... Maya mythology refers to the pre-Columbian Maya civilizations extensive polytheistic religious beliefs. ... In Maya mythology, Ixchel was an earth and moon goddess, patroness of weavers and pregnant women. ... The jaguar played an important role in the culture and religion of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. ...

Man of Crops

The Man of Crops is a fertility figure in Mesoamerican mythology. Among the Olmec, gods are often depicted with a distinct cleft on the forehead, perhaps identifying this characteristic as divine. A carved celt, a stone implement shaped like a chisel or ax head, from Veracruz shows a representation of God II, or the Maize God, growing corn from his cleft, and also shows this god with the snarling face associated with the jaguar (Coe 1972:3).

The Man of Crops was a human man or boy who chose to give his life so that his people might grow food. The heroic Man of Crops is sometimes mentored or assisted by a god figure from the other world. The myths of the Popoluca people of Veracruz make him a tribal hero, sometimes called Homshuk, whose death gives food to all mankind. This hero names himself as "he who sprouts at the knees." In Aztec, Tepecano, and Tarascan versions, he is buried and corn or tobacco grows from his grave. A myth of the Christianized Quiché states that, during and following his crucifixion, corn and other crops spilled from the body of Jesus. Veracruz is the name of both a state in Mexico and that states largest city. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Tarascan men reeling cord for nets & making nets, 1899. ... The Kiche , or Quiché in Spanish spelling, are a Native American people, part of the Maya ethnic group. ... // Jesus, or Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Jesus Christ, is Christianitys central figure, both as Messiah and, for most Christians, as God incarnate. ...

Rain Spirit

The Olmec image of the rain spirit appears frequently in the mythology of succeeding cultures. Invariably the rain spirit is male, though he may have a wife who shares authority over the waters. Often he is perceived as a child or a young man, sometimes as a dwarf. He may also be portrayed as a powerful rain god, with many helpers.

In Aztec and Maya traditions, the rain lord is a master spirit, attended by several helpers. His name in the Aztec language is Tlaloc, and his helpers are "tlaloque." The Maya of the Yucatan recognize Chac and the "chacs." In the Guatemalan area, these spirits are often associated with gods of thunder and lightning as well as with rain. The rain spirits are known as Mam and the "mams" among the Mopan of Belize. In some traditions, as with the Pipil of El Salvador, the figure of the master is missing, and the myths focus on "rain children," or "rain boys." Modern Nahua consider these numerous spirits to be dwarfs, or "little people." In the state of Chiapas, the Zoque people report that the rain spirits are very old but look like boys. Tlaloc, as depicted in the Magliabechi Codex Tlaloc was, in Aztec mythology, the god of rain and fertility. ... In Maya mythology, Chac (sometimes spelled Chaac) was the god of rain and thunder, and important as a fertility and agriculture god. ... The Mam are a Native American people of the highlands of western Guatemala. ... The Pipil are a loose confederation of Nawat (a Nahuatl dialect) speaking indigenous people, known for prehistoric migrations, that currently live in El Salvador. ... Nahua, Middle American Indian population of central Mexico, of which the Aztecs of pre-Conquest Mexico are probably the best known members. ... Chiapas is a state in the southeast of Mexico. ...

References

• Bierhorst, John. The Mythology of Mexico and Central America, William Morrow (1990). ISBN 0-688-11280-3.
• Coe, M.D. "Olmec Jaguars and Olmec Kings." In E.P. Benson (ed), The Cult of the Feline. Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks (1972): pp. 1-12.
• Coe, M.D. Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. London: Thames and Hudson (2002): pp. 64, 75-76.
• Luckert, Karl W. Olmec Religion: A Key to Middle America and Beyond. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma, (1976). ISBN 0-8061-1298-0.