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How did Olmec culture spread?

How did Olmec culture spread?

Geography The Olmec lived in a fertile land and developed the first civili- zation in the Americas. Culture Olmec culture spread to other groups of people in Meso-America through trade.

What characteristics did the spread of the Olmecs spread to?

Through their trade networks, the Olmec were able to spread many characteristics of their culture, religion, architecture, and social structure spread north to the Valley of Mexico and around Central America.

Who did the Olmec establish trade connections with?

The Olmec were the earliest people to settle in Mesoamerica. They were an advanced people who established trade connections with neighboring empires such as the Zapotec. They thrived from 1500 BC to 800 BC. However, the reasons for their decline are unclear.

What was the effect of Olmec trade in Mesoamerica?

Highly desirable items like obsidian knives, animal skins, and salt were routinely traded between neighboring cultures. The Olmecs created long-distance trade routes to obtain the things they needed, eventually making contacts all the way from the valley of Mexico to Central America.

What did Olmec trade?

Typical Olmec trade goods included obsidian, jade, serpentine, mica, rubber, pottery, feathers and polished mirrors of ilmenite and magnetite.

What resources did the Olmecs use?

Because they were the first civilization, many later Mesoamerican civilizations used and repeated Olmec features and characteristics. The Olmec people discovered and made use of many natural resources in the area, including rubber and corn.

What did Olmecs do?

The Olmec created massive monuments, including colossal stone heads, thrones, stela (upright slabs), and statues. They may have been the originators of the Mesoamerican ball game, a ceremonial team sport played throughout the region for centuries.

What did Olmecs trade?

What was trade like before the Olmec civilization?

Before the dawn of the Olmec civilization, trade in Mesoamerica was common. Highly desirable items like obsidian knives, animal skins, and salt were routinely traded between neighboring cultures.

How did the Tlatilco culture influence the Olmec culture?

The Olmec and Tlatilco cultures evidently were in contact with one another, most likely through some sort of trade, and the Tlatilco culture adopted many aspects of Olmec art and culture. This may have even included some of the Olmec gods, as images of the Olmec Dragon and Banded-eye God appear on Tlatilco objects.

How did trade help to spread culture-invest info?

The networks of trade fostered communication and cross-cultural exchanges by allowing the diffusion of culture, diasporic communities, and the exchange of products. Diffusion of culture was evident because these traders were meeting new people and exchanging words with them. What are 3 ways that culture changes?

Where did the Olmec people live in Mexico?

Christopher Minster, Ph.D., is a professor at the ​Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. He is a former head writer at VIVA Travel Guides. The Olmec culture thrived in the humid lowlands of Mexico’s Gulf coast during the Early and Middle Formative periods of Mesoamerica, from about 1200–400 BCE.