Popular Plagiarism
One of the many features of history I have always found fascinating is how common it is for civilizations to adopt other cultures. America took pizza from the Italians, Japan stole China’s entire writing system, even the Romans – the forebears of all of western civilization – stole their pantheon from the Greeks. People aren’t always original, and a lot of times we give credit where it isn’t due. In a way it’s like when you tell a joke quietly mid-conversation, but only one person hears. Then that person turns around and says the exact same joke only louder and receives a thunderous applause from the group. It was my joke to begin with Ron, now please take this knife out of my back!
Anyway, you may be wondering where I am going with this. Well dear reader, keeping on topic with my recent posts, my plan is to give credit to one of the most overlooked civilizations in all of pre-Columbian history: the Olmec.
What is a Mother Culture?
A “Mother Culture” is a precursor civilization that has a profound influence on the societies that came afterward. Think like the Hunger Games and all of those pre-teen dystopian future movies that followed. The art, architecture, societal structure, even religion of almost every civilization on the planet can be traced back to a Mother Culture, and pre-Columbian Central America was no different. Here, the Olmec Heartland served as the source material. They built the first pyramid of the Americas, created the famous Long Count Calendar, and potentially performed human sacrifice. While all of these practices would be expanded upon to some extent by later civilizations, the Olmec were the first to incorporate them into everyday life.
The Olmec Impact
The most heavily influential aspect of Olmec society on later cultures was their religion. Their focus on astrology, sacred games / ceremonies, and even jaguars are all present in the major civilizations that followed.
The previously mentioned Long Count Calendar, made famous by the Maya (and the hit blockbuster movie 2012), actually originated with the Olmec. They used it to help cultivate the land and forecast harvests. Given its primitive nature the calendar is actually very accurate and has 365 days in a year. If you want a more in-depth look at the Mayan version of the calendar, check out this article by Dr. Diane Davies of University College London.
The earliest religious ballcourts are present within the Olmec heartland and appear to have spread throughout Mesoamerica in the years that followed. The game Pok Ta’ Pok, which is the modern version of this game, likely originated within the heartland (you can watch a video of it here). However the Olmec typically don’t receive credit for the game as it is mostly associated with the later Maya civilization.
Central America is home to the jaguar, a predatory jungle cat that had significant religious meaning for the Olmec. It is present in their sculptures and religion and likely played an important role in everyday life. This significance was adopted by the civilizations that followed, as the Maya and even the Aztecs venerated the jaguar. The Olmec influence was so great that the Aztecs, who came some 1700 years after, adopted the jaguar as a symbol within their military. These elite were high ranking soldiers and referred to as Jaguar Warriors.
Did You Say Dragons?
The Olmec also had a god known as the Olmec Dragon. Since they hadn’t been in contact with the ‘Old World’ since the ice age, I’d say that the Olmec developed up with their gods originally. If that is the case, doesn’t that lend to the idea that dragons existed on earth at one point? I mean they are present in almost every other ancient culture. Just food for thought.
Hoags’ Hypothesis
If you take away anything from this article, it should be this: mother cultures are everywhere, and reach further than you would expect. Your food, your religion, even the language you speak derives itself from those that came before, and it is important we give credit where credit is due. Even if that credit belongs to a people long passed in the mesoamerican jungle.
So what are your thoughts? Is there a culture you believe has faded into history that has a significant impact on your life and the world today? How do you think modern culture will influence the future? Strike up a conversation in the comments below!