USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Olmec were the first major civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands on the Gulf of Mexico in the present-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. The name Olmec is a Nahuatl-the Aztec language-word; it means the rubber people.

Detailed explanation-2: -As of date, there is only one clear use for rubber among the Olmecs. They used rubber to create the ball used for play games. Olmec art portrays these ball games, and earthen ballcourts have been found in Olmec sites.

Detailed explanation-3: -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.

Detailed explanation-4: -They were the first Mesoamerican civilization, and laid many of the foundations for the civilizations that followed. Among other “firsts", the Olmec appeared to practice ritual bloodletting and played the Mesoamerican ballgame, hallmarks of nearly all subsequent Mesoamerican societies.