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The Olmec civilization began about 1500 B.C. The Olmec settled along the Gulf of Mexico and built large religious centers, like the La Venta.
The Olmecs are most famous for their huge statues of heads. These heads were possibly those of kinds. They ranged in height from 5 feet to 11 feet. They weighed as much as 20 tons. The Olmecs made the heads out of volcanic rock called basalt. But there was no basalt where the Olmecs lived. The had to bring the rock from as far as 80 miles away. they might have carved the heads and then hauled them over land. But that would have been difficult since the Olmecs didn't use wheels. They also didn't use animals to pull heavy loads. The Olmec might have floated the basalt heads on rafts down rivers. Then they could have placed the carved heads on land. No one knows they could have gotten them up the hills.
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What was Olmec architecture like?
Not much is known about Olmec architecture except for a conical "pyramid' like edefice located in La Venta, Mexico. The Olmecs are thought to have greatly inflenced later civilizations' architecture, though.
Symbols of what have been found on many Olmec artifacts?
The Olmec colossal heads are the most recognized symbol of the Olmec culture.
What tools did the Olmec used?
the Olmec used the left over bones from the bones from tie-re pray
What type of government did the Olmec have?
The Olmec had a theocratic form of government since religion played a key role. Priests were included in the upper class of Olmec society.
Where did the olmec arise?
The Olmec people first become known to us as a pre-Columbian civilization in the tropical lowlands of what is now south-central Mexico from as early as 1500 BC. The cultures from which the Olmec derived flourished in the area as early as about 2500 BC, but the first clearly Olmec center appears within the city of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán around 1400 BC. The Olmec cannot be said to have "first settled" anywhere, because they developed from communities already in place in the region.
