1. Christina, Danielle, and Stephen

2.  Ruled by powerful priest chieftains who had alliances with other regional priest chiefs; they came to dominate the government with respect and fear instead of force.  The Olmec civilization existed from 2500 BC to 400 BC.  Rulers were the most important religious figures and also had important secular roles.  They had city-temple complexes, public buildings, and drainage canals all of which were provided by the government.  The three major cities of the Olmecs were La Venta in Tabasco, Laguna de los Cerros in Veracruz, and San Lorenzo in Tenochtitlan.  The Olmecs had very little military advancements and many cities such as San Lorenzo were invaded in 900 BC

3.  The Olmec economy was based on commerce and agriculture.  They farmed, fished, and hunted.  People that lived near the rivers had two crops while the people in the mountains had only one; their crops included guords, beans, squash, maize, cotton, and possibly the coco tree.  Irrigation and raised fields were used to farm more intensely.  The Olmecs had long distance trade in which only the elites had access to.  Merchants traded jade and helped city-states connect and communicate with each other.

4.  Polytheistic Relgion  Olmecs had shamanism- believing that each person had an animal spirit that could be controlled by the Shaman.  The Shaman was responsible for conducting rituals and healing the sick.  The Olmecs had a full time priest class.  Most important figures in Olmec religion were animals. EX: The jaguar is seen as an ancestor and a god to the Olmecs.  They had extremely powerful ceremonies that revolved around animals  The Olmecs also linked many man-made things with the environment. EX: They believed that smoke was what produced rain, so they created a fire for their rain ceremony.  Religion inspired most of Olmec art including stone heads and jewelry for ceremonies.  Religion also was the inspiration for the Olmec calendar.  Buried the dead in special burial mounds with all of his jade jewelry.  When a person died the Olmecs believed that the body divided into three. One part went to heaven, one stayed on earth, and one went to the underworld.

5.  The Olmecs were dominated by an elite class of ruler priests able to command labor of population.  The elite class lived in the center of the city-states while the commoners lived in rural areas.  The merchant and warrior class fell underneath the elite, and then the farmers, artisans, sculptors followed.  Artisans created pottery and feather design as well practiced weaving. Merchants spread culture and influence throughout all of the city-states. The elite class contributed to religion, art, and government and economic affairs.

6.  Olmec art was inspired largely by religion.  Jade was commonly used in Olmec art.  They had religious statues and icons that blended animal and human figures.  The Olmecs are famous for their religious stone heads.  They produced very accurate calendars.  The Olmecs were engineering geniuses.  They produced monumental architecture including many temples and the Great Pyramid.  They created the mathematical system of 0.  Studied astronomy to orient the city with the stars.  There is controversy over if it was the Olmecs that developed a very important hieroglyphic alphabet.

7.  The Olmec society is centered in five different geographical areas.  Oaxaca region of western Mexico  Inland Valley of Mexico  The border between Mexico and Guatemala  Southern highlands and lowlands of Yucatan, Honduras, and Guatemala  125 miles of the eastern Mexican coast  The geography ranged from swampy lowlands and hinterlands to volcanoes and mountainous regions.  Well watered soil allowed high maize production.  Olmec farmers were able to harvest two times a year, but much of the land was not fertile. It could only produce food every few years.

8.  Hooker, Richard. "The Olmecs." Civilizations in America. 1996. 28 Aug. 2008.  Lavin, Kimberly. The Olmecs: A Mesoamerican Wonder. 1 Dec. 1999. 27 Aug. 2008.  "Olmec." Wikipedia. 1 Sept. 2008. 1 Sept. 2008.