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How do you think the Olmec transported the huge heads they created without using pack animals or the wheel give reasons for your answer?
How do you think the Olmec transported the huge heads they created without using pack animals or the wheel? Give reasons for your answer. They may have had more than maybe 30 people carrying the heads because of how many people they had working, they were able to step aside form their job and transport the head.
What is the largest single building structure in Mesoamerica?
great pyramid at Cholula
That distinction belongs to great pyramid at Cholula (Puebla), considered by some to be the largest single structure (by volume) in the Americas. While the pyramid is the greatest single building of the Mesoamerica architectural tradition, it is poorly preserved and understood.
How did the Olmec farm?
The Olmecs practiced basic agriculture using the “slash-and-burn” technique, in which overgrown plots of land are burned: this clears them for planting and the ashes act as fertilizer. They planted many of the same crops seen in the region today, such as squash, beans, manioc, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes.
Why are the Olmec heads important?
The heads date from at least 900 BC and are a distinctive feature of the Olmec civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. They all display distinctive headgear and one theory is that these were worn as protective helmets, maybe worn for war or to take part in a ceremonial Mesoamerican ballgame.
Why were the Olmec heads built?
The Olmec are probably best known for the statues they carved: 20 ton stone heads, quarried and carved to commemorate their rulers.
Where were the Olmec heads found?
All of the authentic Olmec heads can be found in Mexico. San Lorenzo Head (10) is located at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán Community Museum while San Lorenzo Heads (2) and (6) are at Mexico City’s National Anthropology Museum. Xalapa’s Anthropology Museum houses the remaining San Lorenzo sculptures.
What did Olmec accomplish?
Contributions. The Olmecs were apparently the first Mesoamerican people to fathom the concept of zero, develop a calendar, and create a hieroglyphic writing system. These intellectual achievements, along with Olmec myths and rituals, were influential in the subsequent Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec and Aztec cultures.
What did the Olmec create?
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.
How did Olmecs shape their colossal heads?
Archaeological investigation of Olmec basalt workshops suggest that the colossal heads were first roughly shaped using direct percussion to chip away both large and small flakes of stone.
What are some examples of Olmec headdresses?
All examples of Olmec colossal heads wear distinctive headdresses that probably represent cloth or animal hide originals. Some examples have a tied knot at the back of the head, and some are decorated with feathers. A head from La Venta is decorated with the head of a bird.
How did the Olmecs transport large boulders?
The boulders were transported over 150 kilometres (93 mi) from the source of the stone. The exact method of transportation of such large masses of rock are unknown, especially since the Olmecs lacked beasts of burden and functional wheels, and they were likely to have used water transport whenever possible.
What is the most striking example of Olmec art?
Nevertheless, the most striking examples of Olmec art are the colossal heads. The Olmec colossal heads are important historically and culturally to modern Mexicans. The heads have taught researchers much about the culture of the ancient Olmec.