Olmecs: America's First Civilization

Ancient Peoples and Places

by Richard A. Diehl

The Olmecs of southern Mexico were America's oldest civilization and Mesoamerica's 'Mother Culture'. Long famous for their Colossal Heads carved from giant boulders, the Olmecs have fascinated the public and archaeologists alike since the 1940s when National Geographic magazine reported the initial explorations of their centres. Despite well-publicized discoveries of spectacular basalt sculptures, portable jade objects and richly decorated pottery vessels, until quite recently almost nothing was known about Olmec history, foreign contacts and daily life. Now archaeologists have recovered information that allows them to assemble a reasonably complete picture of Olmec culture, its accomplishments and its impact on later Mexican civilizations. The Olmecs presents the first modern overview of information from recent archaeological field projects and studies of Olmec art. In addition to detailed consideration of Olmec life, culture and art, it examines the Olmec presence in the surrounding areas of Mexico and central Mexico and their role in the formation of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture. Profusely illustrated, this engagingly written survey will become the standard work on this enigmatic culture.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Anthropology, Research

208 pages, Hardcover

First published November 28, 2004

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Olmecs

The Olmec Culture in Central America died out 2500 years ago. But the architecture of mounds and pyramids and the fascinating art signal their influence. In fact the author claims that the Olmec were one of the six or seven distinctly important civilizations in the world's history. The Olmec culture was a predecessor to the Mayan, Aztec and Oaxacan cultures that came centuries later.

This book features the art including figurines made of stone and jade that rival anything made by the Egyptians. It also features discussion of the Olmec Colossal heads which are even more fascinating - both visually stunning and realistic.

I was first made aware of this culture on a trip to Mexico City's famous Anthropology Museum in which the Olmec exhibits are featured prominently.

4 stars

[Jrobertus · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a brief, but well researched and written book about the Olmecs, the so called "mother culture" of Meso-America. Coe is an archaeologist with personal experience in the subject and so has a solid understanding of a wide range of observational and historical data to pull his story together. He makes an interesting point about how cultures that appear to emerge from a primitive background, like the Olmecs, but also the Egyptians and Sumerians, often make their most spectacular achievements early in their history and then just make subtle changes over time. The giant Olmec heads and most magnificent pyramids are built relatively early in their respective cultures. They seem to speak to an initial exuberance and creativity that wanes with time.

[David Damiano · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Olmecs: America's First Civilization by Richard A. Diehl was a well-written book that allows readers to truly understand the Olmec civilization. This book was extremely useful for me when I was researching the Olmecs because there is very little known about the Olmecs, and the small fractions that we do know are very difficult to find in outdated books and on the internet. Richard A. Diehl's book took all of that information and made it easily accessible in this book.

[Bob Newman · Rating 3 out of 5]

the whole Olmec catalogue

If you really need to know everything that's known in modern times about the Olmecs, the first civilization in the Americas, located along Mexico's Gulf coast---the culture that produced the colossal stone heads---then you've probably come to the right place. This is your book, the overview that was needed. You will learn where everything was found, what was found, how big it was, what was it made out of, and where the makers got their material. You will read the names of all the archaeologists who helped discover what is known about the Olmecs. You will find out what guesses they made about this culture, which is known as one of the six core cultures of world history, a culture that came to an end around 400 BC had as its offspring the Maya, the Zapotecs, the Toltecs, and the Aztecs. You will also learn what is known for sure---from modern archaeological detective techniques. Even Olmec influence on surrounding cultures is touched upon. There is no doubt more to learn, even if many possible sites of further knowledge have been destroyed by urban sprawl, road building, and looters. However, I'm not going to tell you that this is an easy read. The words "reader-friendly" have cropped up, but maybe that should be "archaeologically-savvy reader-friendly". You may find interest in the many photographs of artifacts, drawings of others. These are excellent. But trying to read through this book---which I did---is not a simple task. It requires a lot of concentration and unless you are a scholar or potential scholar of things Olmec, it may prove rather taxing. That's the ONLY reason why I've given this otherwise excellent book three stars. It's a great piece of research, a great compilation, done with a lot of thought, for those who want the details. Here they are. For the rest of us, perhaps we needed something less rigorous.

[Little Timmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a more history approach to this book but it is written more from an archeological standpoint. Tons of information and well laid out throughout the book, just not what I was hoping for and wanting. I did learn some new things about the culture but learned way more that I ever wanted about the archeological process of uncovering the ruins of the Olmecs. For me it is a not recommended but it is a good book if you are looking for one written from it's viewpoint

[Sherrill · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a life long Mormon I have heard that these people were the ancient people of the book of Mormon but they didn't seem to be as civilized as all that . They seemed to be a cross between what I imagined and what may have actually been true of them.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

More for the specialist than the general reader.