Early Mesoamerica: Olmec, Zapotec, Maya and Beyond (1800 BC - 200 CE)
We’ll pick up around 1800 BC and see how from a world of small villages there arose larger political and cultural entities and civilization arose in Mesoamerica. More attention will be paid to the Olmec than to any other group, but we’ll also consider the Zapotec, Maya, and many other sites beside. It’s time to formally wetten our feet in the world of early Mesoamerican civilization, which rounds out our initial consideration of the 6 cradles of civilization, Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, Peru, all of whom we’ve met, and now Mesoamerica.
If you’d like to support my work, and help me build a Big History edifice, you can do so through the links below.
Liberapay - https://liberapay.com/ShlomoMullerSch...
Paypal - https://www.paypal.com/donate/?busine...
As for the 2 sources I mostly relied upon.
https://www.google.com/books/edition/...
https://www.thegreatcourses.com/cours...
(~200 BC Monte Alban first state level civilization? El Mirador beforehand?)
Credits
Olmec Heartland Overview 4 - CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
The Wrestler (Olmec) by DeLange - George and Audrey DeLange (see delange.org), Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons
British Museum Mesoamerica 052 - Einsamer Schütze, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Olmec Head No. 1 at Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico - Mesoamerican, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cabeza olmeca, Santiago Tuxtla - Gunnar Wolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Early Mesoamerican Ballgame sites 1 - Madman2001, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pok ta pok ballgame maya indians mexico 3 - de:User:Sputnik, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Piezas del Conjunto Escultórico "Los Gemelos" - Mag2017, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
El Azuzul in situ (Thomas Aleto) - Ilhuicamina (Thomas Aleto), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Mexico-2883 (2214693190) - Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
La Venta Altar 5 (Ruben Charles) - Ruben Charles, (http://www.rubencharles.com), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Trono Cultura Olmeca 2 - Mag2017, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Acercamiento del Trono de la Cultura Olmeca - Mag2017, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Olmec "Red Palace" in San Lorenzo - Tyleralexanderlopez, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cabeza Colosal nº1 del Museo Xalapa - Utilisateur:Olmec, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
San Lorenzo Monument 4 crop - Marshall Astor (Life on the Edge), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
San Lorenzo Colossal Head 2, from Veracruz - rosemania, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
San Lorenzo Monument 3 crop - Maribel Ponce Ixba (frida27ponce), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cabezaolmeca - Fabián Buelvas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
OlmecheadMNAH - ·Maunus·ƛ·, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cabeza Colosal 7 - Mag2017, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
San Lorenzo Colossal Head 8 - Sergio Gonzalez, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
San Lorenzo Monument 61 - Sergio Gonzalez, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Diferente Ángulo de la Cabeza Colosal 9 - Mag2017, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
San Lorenzo Colossal Head 10 - Leslie Hazell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tres Zapotes Monument A - HJPD, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cabeza olmeca, museo de San Andrés Tuxtla - Gunnar Wolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Chiapas in Mexico (location map scheme) - TUBS, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
SE Mesoamerican Formative Period sites - Madman2001, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
DecCeramicsMusRegTuxtla - AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Formative Period southern Mesoamerica 2 - Madman2001, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tlatilco stirrup jar (And)
Formative Era sites - Madman2001, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tlatilco female figurine - Steven Zucker, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Acróbata de Tlatilco - El Comandante, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Magnetite-118736 - Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com – CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Guerrero in Mexico (location map scheme) - TUBS, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Juxtlahuaca Jaguar (M Lachniet) (and…)
Juxtlahuaca Serpent (M Lachniet) - Photo by Matt Lachniet, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons
Juxtlahuaca Ruler (M Lachniet) - Photo by Matt Lachniet, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons
Credits continued in pinned comment