Olmeca

The Olmecs flourished on Mexico’s Gulf coast, in what are now Veracruz and Tabasco, roughly between 1500 and 400 BCE, making them the earliest major Mesoamerican civilization. They are famous for their colossal stone heads and for ceremonial centers such as San Lorenzo and La Venta.

They are called the “mother culture” because later civilizations like the Maya and the Aztecs inherited elements from them, such as pyramid building, the ballgame, and calendar traditions. Do not confuse them with the Aztecs (Mexica), who arose more than two thousand years later.