the olmecs

Question 1

early agriculture

Answer 1

chili peppers

• beans
• avocadoes
• squash
• gourds
• maize
• tomatoes

Question 2

staple food

Answer 2

maize (4000BCE)

Question 3

animals

Answer 3

not very many domesticated animals

• b/c the larger ones could not be domesticated
• they didn’t use animal power

Question 4

ceremonial centers

Answer 4

-monumental pyramids
temples
palaces

Question 5

where were they

Answer 5

veracruz

-coast of Gulf of Mexico

Question 6

Olmecs means

Answer 6

“rubber people”

-came from the rubber trees that flourish there

Question 7

first olmec ceremonial center was at

Answer 7

San Lorenzo

Question 8

important ceremonial centers

Answer 8

1-San lorenzo
2-La Venta
3- Tres Zapotes

Question 9

irrigation?

Answer 9

none

because the area received steady abundant rainfall

Question 10

what water system did they build

Answer 10

drainage to prevent flooding

Question 11

olmec society

Answer 11

authoritarian in nature (strict obedience)

Question 12

taxes

Answer 12

peasants payed a portion of their harvest to maintain the elite class living ceremonial centers and to

Question 13

labor

Answer 13

peasants labored regularly on behalf of the elite

Question 14

art

Answer 14

colossal human heads of basalt

=pyramids

Question 15

olmec influence

Answer 15

central and southern mexico

• guatlemala
• el salvador

Question 16

how did olmec spread influence

Answer 16

military force & trade

Question 17

trade goods (precious stone)

Answer 17

jade goods

obsidian cutting edges

Question 18

how did the olmecs decline?

Answer 18

unknown

• destroyed San Lorenzo and La Venta
• broke statues and ravaged

Question 19

possible reasons for destroying their ceremonial centers

Answer 19

civil conflicts

political doubts

Question 20

ball games and human sacrifices

Answer 20

unsure how important they were to the olmecs