USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Now a team describes what is potentially the oldest evidence of writing in the Americas. For many archaeologists, the two artifacts suggest that Maya script originated in an earlier culture known as the Olmec.

Detailed explanation-2: -Maya writing is attested from the mid-preclassic period in the center of Petén in the Maya lowlands, and lately scholars have suggested that the earliest Maya inscriptions may in fact be the oldest of Mesoamerica. The earliest inscriptions in an identifiably Maya script date back to 200–300 BCE.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Olmec civilization is known for being the first great Mesoamerican culture. It is famous for its monumental sacred complexes, massive stone head sculptures, ball games, the drinking of chocolate, and animal gods.

Detailed explanation-4: -Olmec hieroglyphs (alternatively Olmec glyphs, Olmec writing, or Olmec script) designate a possible system of writing or proto-writing developed within the Olmec culture.

Detailed explanation-5: -Appearing around 1600 BCE, the Olmec were among the first Mesoamerican complex societies, and their culture influenced many later civilizations, like the Maya. The Olmec are known for the immense stone heads they carved from a volcanic rock called basalt.