Greetings! Thank you for your work, I really appreciate what youre doing. Im a Mexican Native American and I can tell you with no doubt that the facial features carved on these heads are very native of that region. I have travelled and made friends around and have seen these features in many native peoples. It is not uncommon to have a friend teased because he "looks like an olmeca head". I remember that in my Kickboxing class was a guy from that region, we called him LaMolle because he looked like an olmec head and he seemed to be made of stone, you could counter with jabs and it would get you nowhere, his nose would not bleed, his eye sockets would barely swell, and he would keep fighting. Maybe the olmeca standard of beauty revolved around the rugged features of a warrior.
That region also has had Africans transported in since the colonial period, no? And we don't know about the pre-colonial period. It's not impossible that other people besides and before Columbus learned to navigate the oceans. In fact, it's ridiculous to think the first to America would have been the Spanish. That by no means discredits the distinguished accomplishments or dignity of the old civilizations of the American continent. In fact, the way that the most advanced civilizations have become so great is by not re-inventing the wheel so to speak.
@@e.diamond4080 Hello. Be honest. Brutally honest if needs be. So if there's compelling evidence that other peoples crossed the Atlantic to the Americas then we'd be interested to see it. I've seen what's been shown so far and it's not even remotely convincing. Your use of the word ridiculous suggests an argument from personal incredulity and therefore a logical fallacy. That's not a great place to start. Seafaring requires specific technologies and infrastructure. Both of these would be evidenced in the archaeologiical record and local traditions on either side of the ocean. It can be shown that the Vikings, the Spanish and Portuguese, and the English all made the crossing. Ships and shipwrecks, settlements and colonies, docks and shipyards; they all leave traces. So we can, for instance, disregard the flights of fantasy indulged in by Graham Hancock. Then there's DNA. My family has Native American DNA ( Taino Indian so I'm told ). I'm guessing that these ancient peoples accomplished what they did by dint of their own indigenous ingenuity and indigenous efforts.
you are a joke you make us laugh the native people of United States Mexican they all were black people this so-called Indians anchors Myers and Ash test mloecs it's so sad I truly feel sorry for you all your family's been lying to you The Truth is Out the black people will come from their true identity I'm glad I'm not you people goodbye
@@e.diamond4080 Not just that region try all of latin america. Do a DNA test on people who you think don't have african DNA. Who was Yanga? Etc. The blood is there just watered down the further you leave out of that region. 3 racial mixtures common in all of Latin America. And yes even in Mexico. African, Spanish and Native ancestry. Do a basic 23andme google search will tell you the average ancestry. Looks are deceiving. Slavery was bigger in Latin America than USA.
I am forever impressed by the OLMECS. I remember an exhibition I saw in Moscow on American ART and I immediately fell in love with the Aztecs, Toltecs, Olmecs, Mayas, and Incas. The Americas have produced such wealth and history. I have travelled in Mexico, Guatemala and Peru besides other countries of Latin America and I can't get enough of this history. They were people who left such a legacy for us that we cannot ignore them. May the spirit of those ancient Americans live on for ever.
Such an awesome comment bro. Thanks, we love you too. My ancestors were very much so as important as ancient Europeans, Middle East civilizations. I myself love the history of the Rus
Why do they hide dat from teaching dat in American history I guess it would show dat Colombus didn't discover America compare da statues to da ones in Ancient Ethiopia meaning all black people didn't come on no slave ships 💪😎
YOUR NAME IS "Peter Furst" you don't want Black and Brown people to have any connection to Africa. The white Man is Scared we Black and Brown will wake up.
My Family are indigenous Zapotecs from Oaxaca and some of us have more Maya features and some of us look just like the Olmecs. Sometimes people confuse us for being Polynesian or from the Philippines because of our almond shaped eyes etc.
Yeah i still dont understand how people dont know the connection with Polynesia and even Australian DNA and even clues to connection of the old world and new world via Keystone cuts DNA in Peru there was people in the Americas way longer than people know but something happened 11 thousand years ago where they had to rebuild again.
@@donaldnixon919To some degree you are correct, but our people in particular just started to integrate into western society when our parents migrated to the States from their village and all of us look like our ancestors from way back then. I and a lot of my cousins look similar to the Zapotec artifacts you see in museums or found in archeological sites. I’ve also done a DNA test and confirmed I am full blooded Indigenous American.
I can totally relate... when I was child in school and our textbook had images of the Olmec head statues in it ,my entire class made fun of me because I looked exactly like it. The resemblance was uncanny. And now as an adult I understand why it makes sense... both my parents are Mexican indigenous. One of my grandmother's spoke the indigenous language of her people. People still ask me if I am either Polynesian or from the Philippines till this day. Lol
I find it sad people arguing over who made these beautiful sculptures, the indigenous population should be allowed to be proud of what their ancestors did. I've seen some of these sculptures in Mexico City at Museo Nacional de Antropología, I suggest anyone start there if you're interested in indigenous Mexican culture.
@@nomochances777 Modern day Mexicans? There are 17-18 indigenous groups in Mexico that make up 25% of the country. I've traveled Mexico since the 70s and lived there for four years, in the 90s, you couldn't find Mexico on a map.
@@nomochances777 No, the Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, etc. You speak ENGLISH ONLY. The real indigenous people speak their languages fluently not just a random “halito” here and there.
I just found your channel, and suscribed right away. I'm a mixed mexican from Oaxaca with mostly zapotec blood. Always fascinated about our culture, some of my earliest memories are walking down Monte Albán's buildings, so every opportunity I had over the years old visiting old archeological sites I would take It. I went to architecture school in Central México and I learned more about this ancient native América civilizations. Almost 7 years ago I moved to Cancún and I friend of mine suggested me to start working as a guide in the area, It wasn't a difficult decision to make. I got certified and now I do private and collective tours in places like Chichén Itzá, Cobá, Tulum, Ek Balam, maya communities and more. And everytime It keeps growing the fascination and respect for my people of old. This video is one of the best I have seen about Olmec, thanks for putting a lot of work behind, I do videos myself and I know It really takes lots of sitting hours to come with something as good as this. Maybe we can meet if you come to this area, It would be great talking much deeper about the maya that for sure has a HUGE influence from Olmec.
@@AncientAmericas thanks for the complement, I try to put certain amount of effort on most things I do, but sometimes I'm so límited on time. Thanks for watching too. Right now I'm just missing 1.5 videos to finish everything you got from Mesoamerica. It's awesome so far! Thanks Now, answering your question, from the ones around here I would say EK BALAM, I would say It has all It needs on a Maya Classical Site even not being so large. It goes from a monumental Architecture, several writing on walls and carvings of monuments and stelas, a ball court, astronomical alignments, several visible periods of construction over the Classical and post Classical, walls, roads, stucco moldings, chultuns, and a Royalty tomb, which is a most see. Plus the fact you can still climb most buildings. CHICHÉN ITZÁ if you haven't visit It's also something you have to see. It unique for sure and there's a lot of things to talk about. COBÁ is has great interestings features to be honest and it has Jungle feeling. I would definitely also do It if you got Time.
Interesting fact about the Olmec Heads is that the bottoms are flattened on a slant so that they would be naturally facing upwards towards the sky. I think they should be displayed this way.
Incredible video. My mother's mother came from the mountains of El Salvador. She would often talk about the story from her Great Grandmother's time. She would say they came to be there from another places. The place where the big heads that watched and told stories. You showed the Olmec's area of influence, and it makes sense now. Thank you. I wish my grandma were alive to tell her she was right. She had a small black stone head with the same motifs. It was buried with her when she passed.
@@alexthagreat310 Africans have longer foreheads. Indigenous peoples of the americas have shorter foreheads like the statues. Also side view of the statues are also short same as indigenous people. Africans don't have short faces.
As an artist, I'm always amazed by the realism of Olmec statues! Carving lean, well-muscled figures (like those popularized by the Hellenistic Greek era) is already a difficult process. However, I can tell you from personal struggles that adding subcutaneous tissue (fat, etc.) adds an other (literal) layer of difficulty, and is very difficult to master. As with all art, some of the Olmec works are more masterful than others - but compare a Greek Hercules, the Olmec wrestler and a modern-day pro-wrestler or Maori haka performer. It's clear that the Olmec depiction looks much more like a real, fleshy human being that one might meet in life. The fact that these figures are rendered in a medium as tricky as basalt makes it even more amazing. And bear in mind: the Olmec was one of those progenitor societies, with (as far as we know) no preceding tradition of dedicated artistry. Sure, there were people who *made* art - but there was no long-running history of artistic tradesmanship to draw on, as there were for the vaunted Greco-Roman or Egyptian styles. I've always wondered why Olmec art doesn't get more recognition and praise.
More impressive yet, they carved into basalt, a very hard stone, with no metal tools. The techniques can only be imagined, but the incredulous are quick to theorize with alien lasers and ancient CNC machines. They never consider a lifetime dedicated to one single task, just might lead to ingenuity and expertise.
@@mrrodriguezHLP Agreed! As I mentioned in my original post, basalt is a very challenging medium. My guess is that, rather than chisels, these were made by grinding away the stone - a process which would take forever, but possibly not as long as the constant maintenance that would be needed for chisels. Mind you, that's 100% guesswork on my part as, regrettably, I've never (yet) been close enough to an Olmec carving to study such tiny details.
@@mrrodriguezHLP People talking about ancient CNC machines amaze me with how they could skip over real abrasive technology like bow drills, planks, cloth, or cordage used with an abrasive powder. They'll say that sandpaper won't work granite hardness material without even knowing that aluminum oxide is what makes most modern sandpaper and that, I presume, any ancient culture that could access granite could access quartz sand.
Do Mexicans and other Spanish speaking Hispanics truly believe that they have any connection to these ancient Black people? If so they really don’t know their history and that’s sad 😞
I have no real connection to ancient Meso-America, but being an artist, I deeply appreciate the complexity of their art, and I think it's beautiful that it is their art by which we remember them. Since my first inquiry into the Olmec, I've been very impressed by those infamous basalt heads: their features are so clearly defined, the carving technique so delicate and precise, and their expressions communicate so much longing and internal struggle, it's hard for me to look away. Perhaps it's projection on my part, but I think that might be the way they would want to be remembered.
If your impressed and like the Olmec heads, you'll also like the colosal Toltec statues, the "Atlantes de Tula" in the state of Hidalgo. Some think they were space warriors due to the weapon carvings in their hands and also represent Quetzalcoatl. They weigh 8.5 tons and some are more than 4-5 meters in height, carved in basalt.
These Olmecs head features are certainly not "European or African" but they may be trait of "population Y" that David Reich, Jeniffer Raff and. Skoglund discuss extensively. We know already enough archeology and genetics to debunk any pseudoscientific claims of pre-Columbian"white gods" or other transatlantic contacts, but we still don't really know how many waves had or how diverse population of Ancient Beringia was, we also know now from David Reich that some Native Americans even migrated back to Asia some 5000 ya. and perhaps it were Native American sailors rather than Polynesians that settled Rapa Nui first! Pity that so few Native People wants to get their DNA tested. Great loss for humanity
I'm probably one of very few people who finds a previously undiscovered , informative video on the olmecs, and fistpumps and shouts "WOOOO!" like they're at a sporting event.
You better do, the life of the team is at a stake if they lose. ;p Well, we don't know if Olmecs were into human sacrifice, it was just a joking comment.
are you aware the OLMECS they were in communication with the aliens and furthermore they was feeding the reptilians who are blood drinkers what do you think all of those sacrifices were about please take care of yourself peace and love
Yes, as a young kid in my native México, I remember these big big stone heads on the roads to Acapulco, Guerrero, on way to visit family with my abuela. Cheers for my people!
The Olmecs ....if you go CA, started, example like picture...the mańs head in the stone-- warrior stuff. Like we see now, US soldiers paint their face, Chinese, Russians... The Jaguar then was symbolism of strength and man becoming the Jaguar....Indians in CA look just like those stone faces. Don’t let anyone still our history
HOY EN DIA LAS KEBESAS OLMECAS ESTAN EN LAS CASAS DE NUESTROS POLITICOS DEL PRI, PAN. NUESTROS POLITICOS HAN SAQUEADO AL PAIS DURANTE AÑOS (FOBAPROA) Y SEGUIMOS PAGANDO.
Tabasco native here. Thanks for sharing this, I really enjoyed your exposition and tone/delivery. I didn't know Olmecs [possibly] originated that MesoAm calendar. There is a sense of community around the word "Olmec" in my hometown. It's weird because there is little connection with modern "peoples" so it feels like cheap/manufactured 21st century tribalism. Like Italians from Brooklyn that can't speak Italian, no offense. "You're a modern Mexican from Tabasco, not an Olmec, calm down". I saw it in another comment and can corroborate. "He looks like an Olmec head" is a common way of mocking someone's physical looks in Tabasco, even in 2023. That human face, the Olmec -face is still around in Tabasco, maybe a little bit to the south of Veracruz as well. They do not look like your median face from the Yucatan peninsula (Maya) or the Valle de Mexico (Mexica and others).
A Cancun Chechen-Itza tour guide told our group that the chewing gum company Chiclets derived its name from a Mayan, possibly Olmec, word “chi-cle” which is the sound made when they would chew the rubber harvested from the trees. An American businessman that visited Chichen Itza in the 1920’s asked the locals what they had in their mouth & he got the idea of Chiclets from his visit. This is what I remember hearing.
That's correct! The gum came from the chicle sap. Eventually the chewing gum companies figured out how to make artificial gum. There's a whole history behind the boom and bust of the Chicle business.
as I remember chicle comes from the tree call Xitle and the guys name who commercialized it was Mr Chiclets as with this fact I have no science to back it up. It is what I heard from my father..
What's fascinating about meso-American civilizations is that while Old World civilizations could borrow and learn from each other, the meso-Americans started from scratch.
So from what I can see the Olmecs where like the Sumerians of America. Once they didn’t have to worry about food thanks to farming they applied their minds to writing, art etc. And the civilizations that came after them build upon their work.
they never came after they bridge in and destroyed for it is their nature this is why we were told not to Mingle socialize or mixed our blood with other races
Mexicans of today of been heavily mixed with European Spaniards. The Mexicans living today are a watered down version of ancient Mexicans like the Olmec,Maya,or Aztecs.
@@nycg801 there are millions of full Native ppl in the Americas. The USA is very misinformed about Native ppl. They are obsessed with the word extinct!! There are full Native Maya ppl all over Mexico and South America!! It's a scientific fact, other than registered full Native ppl, Mexican Americans and México carry more Native DNA than any other group! South America ain't no slouch either! Mexican on both sides of the border marry and have kids, that Native DNA keeps getting stronger and the other weaker. We have started stressing our kids not to mix!! Not to hate, but the importance of keeping it Native!! We r going to stress, not to hate Afros,but to tell them about their culture vultures delusions!! If u bring a fox into the hen house, the hens will disappear!! Let one culture vulture in, they will want the whole tribe!!
@@teresafernandez9849 I thought you guys were hit with the small pox they devastated you guys plus the onslaught by the Spaniards adding the admixture and subjugation of your culture and civilization how are there full bloods still out there ? And why haven’t they revived their culture and civilization??
Im floored by the wild conspiracies around the Olmecs being Africans and that anything MesoAm is just African. It has the same exact energy as European explorers finding Angkor Wat and saying that there is no way the natives were advanced enough and it was actually Alexander the Great who built it because he conquered eastwards. History is such a rich panoply of cultures and development. I LOVE reading about how people interacted instead of the "everyone was isolated and had no contact with anyone they couldn't directly see". But insinuating that anything good or cool made by the Olmecs and by extension MesoAm was solely due to magical transatlantic Africans is insane. Extraordinary claims demand Extraordinary evidence
I want you to look up something that is rarely shown. Google this " back of Olmec heads"...then tell me what you think. Tell me another group of people who have braids (the back shows corn row braids under all of them)
Is it a wild conspiracy or is it just basic common sense lol. I’ve never seen more obviously black sculptures in my entire life. And seeing how every black accomplishment gets covered up and stolen by others even in modern day, it makes more logical sense to most people that these guys were black
I remember when I went for my first lesson at university about mesoamerican cultures that I was in awe discovering the symbologies they used and handed down generations after generations influencing the cultures that came after! The underworld concept is so fascinating!
This video made me realise how much I missed learning about mesoamerican history and culture. I was able to see an Olmec carving of the colossal head in the Mexico city museum of Anthropology. It was an overwheming feeling standing next to a sculpture that was so ancient, it was carved with so much precision, you can just tell they paid attention to detail. They were very talented. Thank you so much for sharing this video....ps...I am deeply grateful to them for giving the world corn and chocolate.
Yes. Nicole....but dont forget. that. All these. Olmec Heads.. pyramids...stellas..etc...were found. Buried..and. took..years..to. clean...organize..and study..all about..these.advance culture.....Olmec. Mayas. Toltecs and else....describe a global flood..and. no trace.of any carving tool was ever found....to explain how. These heads were made.....THERE'S a lot to talk about. It but. Wish you luck. piecing together..this amazing Culture
All of those ancient sculptures are breathtaking. Visiting the pyramids in Palenque is like being transported back to those ancient times. The jungle sounds, the mist, it’s a spiritual experience. I’m so proud of my Mexican heritage🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽
excuse me Madam unfortunately you are not Mexican please do some research do not believe me or anyone else do some research and you will find out the original Mexicans were black people before your kind came out of the woods the Jungle the forest the caves and begin to mix in with the original people as usual with all nationality whiten out the original people and this is the reason all over the planet they was treated very badly because your ancestors knew who we were the fruit of bright intelligent civilized human beings on the planet Earth nonetheless you have a right to exist and you have a right to do research dig deep to find out who you are
@@davidtyson6869 Bro stop reading the pseudo ghetto literature. I DO believe the olmecs were possibly black...i do know other waves of migration of blacks came after....but not to say all original mexicans were black. Come on now...
Really incredible episode, man. Good job. The Olmecs were absolutely an incredible people, culture, civilization. I recommend the anthropology museum in Mexico city. Mind blowing stuff in there. I could spend entire days in there just looking at all the stuff.
Anyone else notice a resemblance between the ceremonial sunken court of Teopateluanitlan (at 22:56) and the much larger ball courts that came after the Olmecs?
this guy is a liar and you are a liar supporter that you can build up false hope and keep all the benefits as a result of your ancestors wickedness and Theory of Everything . it will not change anything my people are awake now and they know what you and your kind have done I can only hope they would not be a revolution a civil war however it seems you people are not going to stop you people won't get back anything you stole and you people rather die and see your offspring lauded and booted into streets before you would share something that is rightfully mine and my kind thank you
I've noticed a lot of people from eastern and NE Oaxaca who have features that look exactly like the Olmec heads. I did not notice it so much in Vera Cruz, however, but I've spent much more time in Oaxaca than I have in Vera Cruz. I prefer the food in Vera Cruz and Yucatan to Oaxaca, but I like Oaxacan (Zapotec) art the best.
@@LuisRios-bf9vn no, I’m an actual and true Native American who is indigenous to the America’s. I’m not just a person who is black or other with just a wishful theory who thinks they are truly indigenous to the America’s but aren’t. But thank you anyhow for asking. Goodbye.
@@melissafreeman7416 I'm sure you heard of black people saying that they are the true native Americans and also claim that the Aztecs and Maya's were also black
it is time for you to look up to find out where did your brothers and sisters come from due to the fact this is not the mother planet go to your computer Library Museum and look up the face found on Mars now you're being educated
The fact that new and old world agricultural products remained separate until the arrival of Europeans argues convincingly against any sort of pre-Colombian extended contact.
His assertions or am answers were biased. Watch this video that speaks of the Olmecs from an objective perspective based upon thorough research: th-cam.com/video/K-FG2oWl-2k/w-d-xo.html
What gets me on that pyramid thing is how, after having the thought about them being influenced by the Egyptian Pyramids, how could you not think 'Wait thats just a really stable and relatively easy base structure for early peoples to build large monuments?' (also where tf does the question mark go there? That hypothetical thought isn't a question, the whole statement about how one wouldn't reason that is.) The sad part is i'm college educated.
The city of Houston was loaned an Olmec head. I remember being amazed at it as it stood in front of the Museum of Fine Art. Sometimes, flowers and offerings were left there. Eventually, it was returned. I miss seeing it still.
@@tesmith47 they would if you dont know many Natives or Mexicans. Black people are not the only ones with large noses and lips and not all black people have larger noses and lips. I know plenty of people in Texas that resemble those statues and they are not African at all. I actually doubt they are African. 2 reasons. Informed, educated Africans were near Egypt. The rest were and in many cases still are exactly as they were then. Simple minded people that build and do very little in the way of innovative or technologically advanced construction. So it's doubtful they are African. Have a good day. 🙌🏼
@@mr.motivation3797 you do know the early progenitors of western civilization, Greeks, sent their children to African university's for advanced studies, , greater Zimbabwe is still there, and the library was old ,before there was any European civilization. Get better educated
Thank you for a most entertaining presentation of what could have been a most dry and boring history lesson. You kept it fresh and interesting throughout! Fasinating info and completely new insights of the past! ❤😂😊
A friend of mine is exactly like the statue at 27:27, he´s originaly from Tabasco state, all mesoamerican fenotype, not african. That mouth shape is very comon in south México and Guatemala. Olmecs are fascinating. NIce video.
Literally Honduras and Guatemala are known for their African ancestry. Mexicans today still joke about it. Im neutral in this conversation but you just made what seems to be the most ignorant comment.
My grand father was from vera cruz, mexico..when i see his picture, he, looks like a dark skin apache indian..He later moved to honduras were he, met my grandmother who was from belize.. My grandmother was a mulatto half black, AND half white. My father was born in honduras were he, met my mother, who also has indian features and her skin tone is is triguen~a. Im proud to be born in central america, our ancestors were a great people. Great job, thanks for the video, Blessings...
I used to work with a guy from El Salvador. He looked exactly like those Olmec statue heads. A lot of people noticed this. On a vacation to Mexico who got a tourist souvenir small statue head he kept on his desk. Some naive people thought the thing was sculpted just for him.
Plenty of people who look just like the stone head in Mexico. The Toltec people blood line also still exists. They have unusual large heads and can eat Habanero peppers like a kid eating skittles.
The Olmec were far more advanced than the Aztec or the Inca. I believe that we have bearly begun to scratch the surface when it comes to discovering their artifacts. I believe that they were here much longer than archeologists think. And I believe that their civilization was spread out over a much greater distance than just one corner of Mexico.
@@mpforeverunlimitedAztec were very advanced and even had zoos and archeologists. They did alot of excavation of olmdc sites and incorporated much of the sciences of the Maya.
Great video. I live here in Mex. Thank you for the info. Everytime i pass through that part of Mexico. I always want to slow down and discover more. There are regions that look untouched with jungle that looks impassable from a distance. The locals know everything, of course. Timeless
People fail To realize just how diverse and untouched many parts of Mexico are. When I stayed in palenque, its in the jungle. 1 minute outside of town and it was pretty natural. It made the ruins there some of my favorite in the world. Lizards, monkey, butterflies, and all kinds of birds. We had monkeys at my jungle camp i stayed in. Very nice people and very safe. Lots of native Americans live there and around there if you want to visit a town. Waterfalls are pretty as all get out. I will say when it rains, it rains. Really I love the parts of Mexico ove been. The silver country and highlands are cool. San cristabol was awesome. Mexico city was super way more then I thought so I rebooked my flight to get 4 more day on that trip.
it will be very interesting if you do some research on the Olmecs and their sacrifices and taking the bodies into the cave are you aware of the reptilian do you believe in aliens it is more than what meets the eye
Pyramid conspiracies really piss me off, the whole design philosophy is so simple yet genius. The taller a structure the more unstable it is, think about this for more than 5 minutes and anyone should be able to find out the same solution. Taller structures need a wider base... look at a damn mountain if you're still lost... why is a space fairing species so necessary for something so obvious
This was most interesting, we may never know what they called themselves. but one can see the influence.Each group adding another layer that became the whole.
Thanks for your video! I’m fascinated by older and ancient cultures. I want to see how they’re connected to one another as well as to later civilizations.
Correction: the captain of winning team of ball game was killed/sacrificed. Not the losing team’s captain. The losing team captain killed the winning team captain so the winner could ascend to the other side easier than a natural death...so to speak. Learned this while on tour of Chichen Itza recently.
@@rabioramos1796 The Spaniards believe if you don't follow their god that you will be condemned to eternity in hell, and that anyone with a different God must be killed or converted. Where is the logic in that?
Fun fact, our current president Lic. Andres Manuel López Obrador aka AMLO is native from the state of Tabasco cradle of the Olmecs. He is the only president in our history that came from Tabasco. And he is very popular and beloved among mexicans especially in the southern states such as Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Campeche... Vivan los Olmecas!🇲🇽 Y tu canal también por su maravilloso contenido! 👏🏽
As I've seen it being pointed out, a main reason why so many of these ancient cultures had pyramids as a "common theme"... is because it's simply the most stable possible shape in general rather than what those conspiracy/ancient astronaut theorists would claim. Probably figured out by all these cultures without influence from others. As well as figured as a guess by anyone with slightest hint of physics or recalling playing with building blocks.
It's because of the fact that at one time there was on the planet a one world culture. If you believe that we are the first people to have civilization on the planet, then there is no use at all! However, there is mathematical evidence. th-cam.com/video/Xw9lTB0hTNU/w-d-xo.html (THIS IS NOT MY VIDEO) Get out your calculator!
Yeah honestly if there's anything that ancient civilizations, hell, even modern civilizations have taught us is that humans like to build gigantic things for art and spectacle.
One of the main reasons that the Olmec culture grew late compared to other civilizations due to various problems. Unlike other civilization areas, Native americans were new arrivals in mexico and it took them many time to settle well in a very unpredictable enviornment. Pre dynastic egypt, for example, was better and more fertile than modern, however mesoamerican lands, even though being better than other areas, is was still a challenging place to due unpredictable fierce rains, volcanoes, flooding and storms etc. Further domestication also must have played an important role in late development since all other cradle of civilizations (except Peru) domesticated burden carrying, and milk and wool providing animals like bovids, goats, sheeps and horses etc, something they lacked; it must have been a problem in early settlement as limited trade (trade plays an important role in development since an area cannot fullfil all needs). External influence is another problem. Even though major civilizations are independently born, still they were influence as one of the best example is that the Egyptian and Indian written language wasn't indeginous to them, that was rather imported! So i think these factors played a great role for the late developement in Olmec civilizations compared to others: 1. More unpredictable and nasty enviornment than those of other civilizations. 2. Late arrival in lands. 3. No good animals to be domesticated. 4. No external influence. If these conditions improved, i believe that they would also rival others in chronology. Anyways, its a more facsinating fact that they and peru, unlike others, grew and developed wholly independently.
Wonderful..spoken like a true European Historian..grew independent only influence was with trade..so on and so on..that the people in south America are aboriginal to the lands you speak.
@@seiko9361 you are one of the few in these comments that have real facts... it's hard being smarter this most.. in ancient history.. I been commenting on this video and your knowledge matches mines up to 95% so I know you know your stuff...much love to you
I am Mexican, from Morelos, those heads look like me and my family. Big nose big lips and straight hair. If you look at the DNA you'll see they are not african people. Its racist to believe that our culture was not sophisticated enough to do all this, that some else came and did all of it?
Great video! For all of you D&D 5E DM nerds out there I am running The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan adventure and I would highly recommend using this video as a resource. Without spoiling anything many topics discussed here make an appearance in the game.
Fascinating! The history of the Americas and human civilization has been oft overlooked and downplayed. Regardless, there is a rich and complicated history there/here.. The Olmec's also seemed to be fond of carving spheres of all sizes and they left them all over the place. Some of them are simply enormous yet perfectly carved spheres. We don't know how they managed it as carving a perfect sphere from stone is quite difficult for us, even.
@@lorriebrown1243 The Olmecs were not Africans, and no, they did not have contact or any kind of influence coming from the continent of Africa. The author of this video has read those papers or "research's" like "they came before Columbus" and others, and he states that "They were painful to read"... I don't understand the fascination with Africa in the Americas first, why do people believe such nonsense? The continent of Africa and it's people have a rich and colorful history of their own! there's no need to exaggerated and invent outlandish theories/stories of "African's in the Americas", when you can indulge and be proud of the history that came from the home land of Africa itself and their closest neighbors in the North and East... But the West before Columbus? it's all fairy tales.
@@tedolphbundler724 That has nothing to do with the Olmecs and the Africans. The Romans and the Greeks occupied the same region, so they were bound to have influence each other, heck, the Moore's influenced much of Europe and they were African. That I can believe and it's a fact because they are literally nextdoor to Europe... But the Americas? Nah bro. That's another story.
This was a great video on the history of the giant Olmec stone heads! I enjoyed this from Orange County, NY and am a new subscriber. Thanks for sharing this well done video!
One theory of the ball game is that it was not the losers who were sacrificed but the winners. It is amazing though how widespread the game was. I saw the ball courts in Monte Alban Oaxaca (Zapotec) and in Chichen Itza Yucatan (Maya)
The main problem I always had with theories of transatlantic contact is wheels weren't used in the Americas. If I were to visit a place where people were dragging things around the first thing I would do is say, Hey bud, let me show you how to make that easier.
@@jhowblackman There are plenty of uses for the concept of a wheel that have nothing to do with animals. The most obvious is the potter's wheel because that was actually used for a long time before somebody thought of using the concept for moving objects. Another is rollers.
@@macarde10 Yeah, hard to figure why somebody didn't put two and two together with the toys and bigger uses. Then again I feel pretty sure I wouldn't have even figured out that the seasons were a cyclical thing. :)
@@hackermusic3355 probably because they didn't need them. They clearly figured out better ways to transport things. They certainly weren't dumb and I'm sure if they would have needed them, they would have made things with wheels.
The aztecs and mayan had wheeled toys. Investing the wheel and axel independently from the rest of the world. Not only that, but their calendar incorporated cogged wheels..SMH, prior to eastern contact
@@AncientAmericas yea see that’s the thing anyone can publish almost anything but to be considered academic it would have to be peer to peer reviewed by experts in the field and deemed as fact or theory this is the main issue in modern archaeology and anthropology for example esteemed expert a who has spent a career of tryin to prove one point on a certain topic might not approve of expert b who has evidence that disputes there claims
@@AncientAmericas You are being naive. There is constant infighting by academics, and often all evidence be damned. In the end it becomes the politics of tiny Napoleons, whorish little people who seek support from their wealthy overlords.
@@AncientAmericas The evidence is out there, as is the truth as stated by Scully and Mulder. The question is, do you have the power of discernment to understand it, if you see and read it ?
Want to say... you make very informative videos and I enjoy them a lot very well put together and presented thank you for your hard work and time as many will appreciate them in due time
no we don't have to do anything just sit back and watch the sun do his job they better find a cave or a underground city the government has built many of them they are preparing have you not noticed the stem Trail this being sprayed into the clouds in to be at the sphere trying to block out the Sun no melanin goodbye
Very insightful information, I watched it to the end. I read some other stuff and you don't seem bias like the others. You had a lot of facts that kept me interested. Thanks you
thank you we are still here we are coming out of psychological Wolfie of slavery and we as black people one day we'll return to our true identity and all others who try to apologize however nature the Sun the universe the Galaxy will exterminate them all
The Olmec being the "Mother Culture" of Mesoamerica is indeed the received wisdom from decades past but that view, I think, is changing. Sure, they had definite and significant influence but more recent discoveries have shown they were just one of several contemporary cultures in the region, all of which had some influence on later civilizations. It was rather a shock to me to read this as I'd been raised thinking it was the Olmec alone, but there it is, and this implies that the ideas originally attributed solely to the Olmec, but which now seem to have been fairly common in their day, go back even further in the cultural history of Mesoamerica. Which is even cooler, because it shows just how old those shared cultural traits are, and we have yet to find the true "mother culture".. Arguably, Oaxacan civilization had a bigger influence on the Pre-Classic Maya than the Olmec. See _The Origins of the Maya States_ by Traxler and Sharer. And the Pre-Classic seems to have been the height of the Maya culture, even if they didn't go so much into writing things down.
The issue with archeology is that , the oldest thing found is chosen as the first, instead of just acknowledging its at LEAST that old. Who knows what else has not been found under cities and towns etc
I appreciate your objective approach and thought process surrounding these new discoveries of our shared past. Although we may be prohibited culturally from agreeing...Watch this video that speaks of the Olmecs from an objective perspective based upon thorough research: th-cam.com/video/K-FG2oWl-2k/w-d-xo.html
@@AncientAmericas Hey Thank you very much! Just watched your Maya video! It was really informational and definitely subbed! If you ever have any questions please don't hesitate to ask us! We look forward to watching more of your videos!
@Someone and furthermore some of the Mexican are the best deceivers they take on many identities they can fit into many categories however just take a look into the country bass stole call Mexico and you will see that true identity thank you
exactly sir do you know why because if you don't have melanin please search stay out of the Sun as you have noticed they have been spraying stem trails into the atmosphere trying to block out the Sun won't be long now sir I'll see you in the underground city or a banded cave most likely the mall.
@@davidtyson6869 the brothers yo, the original culture vultures pretending to everything from the Samurai to first nations of the Americas to European Royalty.
The Olmec civilization, often showcased in history documentaries, is regarded as the "mother culture" of Mesoamerica. Flourishing from approximately 1500 to 400 BCE along the Gulf Coast of present-day Mexico, the Olmecs laid the groundwork for subsequent civilizations like the Maya and Aztecs. Their legacy includes monumental colossal stone heads, sophisticated art, early writing systems, and religious concepts that influenced later Mesoamerican societies. Documentaries frequently explore their advancements in urban planning, trade networks, and their mysterious decline, which still captivates historians and archaeologists today.
@@AncientAmericas Hey, just a note......i had a friend in Nacadoches, Tx that kept hitting a rock when she would cut her lawn. She finally dug it up and it was an Olmec head sculpture....a bit larger than the size of an average mans fist.....she kept it on her mantle, where i saw it and asked about it. That would tell me they traveled and or traded beyond central America...then again, did they nake the head sculptures rhat small orxare they akeays larger?
@@roscoe4092 BUILT BY AFRICANS! ANCIENT KEMET "egyptian" ARTIFACTS FOUND ALL AROUND THE AMERICAS ... MEANWHILE IDIOTS WOULD CLAIM ... THEY WERE TRADING WITH THE OLMECS IN THE AMERICAS LMAO WTF
Omg so I went on a binge rewatching your content a few days ago and then my government teacher was talking about native migration and he mentioned how the Olmec heads had "African characteristics" and I managed to work up the courage to correct him and say it was a misconception because of your video !! I ended up pointing him towards your channel since he said he'd only done a cursory glance and wanted to know more (tho I kinda doubt he was being sincere) so keep it up man! You're doing great stuff with this channel! And if you see this Mr. Childs uhh I definitely was talking about another government teacher I would never doubt your sincerity on the internet no never
It is certain and unarguably African. Just the fact that the region had pyramids which are only found in Africa other than the America's. I guess you are complimenting him for excellent deception!!!
@@carolynmiles8426 the chinese has pyramids as well as many other civilization outside of África What You said is no better than saying the aliens did it
Great video! Thank you for not being afraid of including the "conspiracy theories." Some of those pseudohistories have been gaining traction in recent years. It's been painful. You got a new subscriber! :)
@@gyozakeynsianism Ivan Van Sertima was a highly skilled researcher. To dismiss his work as "bs" is very problematic. If someone showed up in the Antebellum South looking like an Olmec head, I think we all know what would have happened to them. The Olmec heads and other Meso-American artifacts suggest two different phenotypes; one is clearly African. Also, Columbus wrote that when he reached Haiti the native people told him that black-skinned people had come from the south and southeast in ships trading in gold-tipped metal spears. I don't think those Africans were the Olmec, but clearly, there was an African presence in the Americas. It is staggering that the obvious is cavalierly dismissed. And yes this is very Eurocentric. Let's get serious. Egyptians are still depicted as European!
@@nenobrown4189 It's a load of crap, and your explanation for its not being accepted is a conspiracy theory. If you cared about good evidence, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Greetings! Thank you for your work, I really appreciate what youre doing.
Im a Mexican Native American and I can tell you with no doubt that the facial features carved on these heads are very native of that region. I have travelled and made friends around and have seen these features in many native peoples. It is not uncommon to have a friend teased because he "looks like an olmeca head".
I remember that in my Kickboxing class was a guy from that region, we called him LaMolle because he looked like an olmec head and he seemed to be made of stone, you could counter with jabs and it would get you nowhere, his nose would not bleed, his eye sockets would barely swell, and he would keep fighting.
Maybe the olmeca standard of beauty revolved around the rugged features of a warrior.
Thank you! I wish I could broadcast this comment very loud for the people in the back.
That region also has had Africans transported in since the colonial period, no? And we don't know about the pre-colonial period. It's not impossible that other people besides and before Columbus learned to navigate the oceans. In fact, it's ridiculous to think the first to America would have been the Spanish. That by no means discredits the distinguished accomplishments or dignity of the old civilizations of the American continent. In fact, the way that the most advanced civilizations have become so great is by not re-inventing the wheel so to speak.
@@e.diamond4080 Hello. Be honest. Brutally honest if needs be.
So if there's compelling evidence that other peoples crossed the Atlantic to the Americas then we'd be interested to see it.
I've seen what's been shown so far and it's not even remotely convincing.
Your use of the word ridiculous suggests an argument from personal incredulity and therefore a logical fallacy. That's not a great place to start.
Seafaring requires specific technologies and infrastructure. Both of these would be evidenced in the archaeologiical record and local traditions on either side of the ocean.
It can be shown that the Vikings, the Spanish and Portuguese, and the English all made the crossing.
Ships and shipwrecks, settlements and colonies, docks and shipyards; they all leave traces.
So we can, for instance, disregard the flights of fantasy indulged in by Graham Hancock.
Then there's DNA. My family has Native American DNA ( Taino Indian so I'm told ).
I'm guessing that these ancient peoples accomplished what they did by dint of their own indigenous ingenuity and indigenous efforts.
you are a joke you make us laugh the native people of United States Mexican they all were black people this so-called Indians anchors Myers and Ash test mloecs it's so sad I truly feel sorry for you all your family's been lying to you The Truth is Out the black people will come from their true identity I'm glad I'm not you people goodbye
@@e.diamond4080 Not just that region try all of latin america. Do a DNA test on people who you think don't have african DNA. Who was Yanga? Etc. The blood is there just watered down the further you leave out of that region. 3 racial mixtures common in all of Latin America. And yes even in Mexico. African, Spanish and Native ancestry. Do a basic 23andme google search will tell you the average ancestry. Looks are deceiving. Slavery was bigger in Latin America than USA.
I am forever impressed by the OLMECS. I remember an exhibition I saw in Moscow on American ART and I immediately fell in love with the Aztecs, Toltecs, Olmecs, Mayas, and Incas. The Americas have produced such wealth and history. I have travelled in Mexico, Guatemala and Peru besides other countries of Latin America and I can't get enough of this history. They were people who left such a legacy for us that we cannot ignore them. May the spirit of those ancient Americans live on for ever.
Agreed!
Such an awesome comment bro. Thanks, we love you too. My ancestors were very much so as important as ancient Europeans, Middle East civilizations. I myself love the history of the Rus
Why do they hide dat from teaching dat in American history I guess it would show dat Colombus didn't discover America compare da statues to da ones in Ancient Ethiopia meaning all black people didn't come on no slave ships 💪😎
YOU SHOULD SEE THE OTHER OLMEC HEAD CALLED 'EL NEGRO'. CLEAR DEPICTION OF AN AFRICAN MAN ;)
YOUR NAME IS "Peter Furst" you don't want Black and Brown people to have any connection to Africa.
The white Man is Scared we Black and Brown will wake up.
“Let’s take a moment to thank the Olmecs for helping bestowing chocolate on this cruel world...”
*chef kiss*
Amen.
Don’t forget tobacco too
Tobacco is na abomination.@@MansaMusa-v5q
@@MansaMusa-v5q Don't remind my lungs 😭 lmao
70% of the main ingredient in chocolate comes from West Africa.
My Family are indigenous Zapotecs from Oaxaca and some of us have more Maya features and some of us look just like the Olmecs. Sometimes people confuse us for being Polynesian or from the Philippines because of our almond shaped eyes etc.
Yeah i still dont understand how people dont know the connection with Polynesia and even Australian DNA and even clues to connection of the old world and new world via Keystone cuts DNA in Peru there was people in the Americas way longer than people know but something happened 11 thousand years ago where they had to rebuild again.
❤
The population today aren't the same population thousands of years ago
@@donaldnixon919To some degree you are correct, but our people in particular just started to integrate into western society when our parents migrated to the States from their village and all of us look like our ancestors from way back then. I and a lot of my cousins look similar to the Zapotec artifacts you see in museums or found in archeological sites. I’ve also done a DNA test and confirmed I am full blooded Indigenous American.
I can totally relate... when I was child in school and our textbook had images of the Olmec head statues in it ,my entire class made fun of me because I looked exactly like it. The resemblance was uncanny. And now as an adult I understand why it makes sense... both my parents are Mexican indigenous. One of my grandmother's spoke the indigenous language of her people. People still ask me if I am either Polynesian or from the Philippines till this day. Lol
I find it sad people arguing over who made these beautiful sculptures, the indigenous population should be allowed to be proud of what their ancestors did. I've seen some of these sculptures in Mexico City at Museo Nacional de Antropología, I suggest anyone start there if you're interested in indigenous Mexican culture.
Nomo Chances, that truth & facts are to much for the brainwashed society to comprehend…
@@nomochances777 Modern day Mexicans? There are 17-18 indigenous groups in Mexico that make up 25% of the country. I've traveled Mexico since the 70s and lived there for four years, in the 90s, you couldn't find Mexico on a map.
@@nomochances777 You can still find pure indigenous people in remote areas of Mexican you dumbass.
@@SergioSalasP ... Yes I know there are so-called Black people in Mexico and those people wasn't even allowed on the National Census until 2015.
@@nomochances777 No, the Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, etc. You speak ENGLISH ONLY. The real indigenous people speak their languages fluently not just a random “halito” here and there.
I just found your channel, and suscribed right away. I'm a mixed mexican from Oaxaca with mostly zapotec blood. Always fascinated about our culture, some of my earliest memories are walking down Monte Albán's buildings, so every opportunity I had over the years old visiting old archeological sites I would take It. I went to architecture school in Central México and I learned more about this ancient native América civilizations.
Almost 7 years ago I moved to Cancún and I friend of mine suggested me to start working as a guide in the area, It wasn't a difficult decision to make. I got certified and now I do private and collective tours in places like Chichén Itzá, Cobá, Tulum, Ek Balam, maya communities and more. And everytime It keeps growing the fascination and respect for my people of old. This video is one of the best I have seen about Olmec, thanks for putting a lot of work behind, I do videos myself and I know It really takes lots of sitting hours to come with something as good as this.
Maybe we can meet if you come to this area, It would be great talking much deeper about the maya that for sure has a HUGE influence from Olmec.
Thank you! You've got great content as well! What's your favorite site to give tours at?
@@AncientAmericas thanks for the complement, I try to put certain amount of effort on most things I do, but sometimes I'm so límited on time. Thanks for watching too. Right now I'm just missing 1.5 videos to finish everything you got from Mesoamerica. It's awesome so far! Thanks
Now, answering your question, from the ones around here I would say EK BALAM, I would say It has all It needs on a Maya Classical Site even not being so large. It goes from a monumental Architecture, several writing on walls and carvings of monuments and stelas, a ball court, astronomical alignments, several visible periods of construction over the Classical and post Classical, walls, roads, stucco moldings, chultuns, and a Royalty tomb, which is a most see. Plus the fact you can still climb most buildings.
CHICHÉN ITZÁ if you haven't visit It's also something you have to see. It unique for sure and there's a lot of things to talk about.
COBÁ is has great interestings features to be honest and it has Jungle feeling. I would definitely also do It if you got Time.
Read the Book of Mormon as an historical account of these earlier inhabitants, you’ll be surprised!
@@rafaelg5228 I have indeed. TBOM is a fascinating book!
Interesting fact about the Olmec Heads is that the bottoms are flattened on a slant so that they would be naturally facing upwards towards the sky. I think they should be displayed this way.
The fatness of the heads is the flat part of the thrones from which they were carved.
@@watcherspirit2351 yes! They recycled the stones. From the Throne to the Stonehead of the same King. There’s a lot of evidence of that
FUN FACT: THE OLMEC ARE PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT.
@@judaprinxbeatz.8008 of course, in the same way we all are
@@judaprinxbeatz.8008 no they are not, indigenous people in this region who are clearly not of direct African descent have these facial features
Incredible video. My mother's mother came from the mountains of El Salvador. She would often talk about the story from her Great Grandmother's time. She would say they came to be there from another places. The place where the big heads that watched and told stories. You showed the Olmec's area of influence, and it makes sense now. Thank you. I wish my grandma were alive to tell her she was right. She had a small black stone head with the same motifs. It was buried with her when she passed.
Thank you!
I’m Salvadoran bro
They came from another place called Africa Lol
@@alexthagreat310 Africans have longer foreheads. Indigenous peoples of the americas have shorter foreheads like the statues. Also side view of the statues are also short same as indigenous people. Africans don't have short faces.
As an artist, I'm always amazed by the realism of Olmec statues! Carving lean, well-muscled figures (like those popularized by the Hellenistic Greek era) is already a difficult process. However, I can tell you from personal struggles that adding subcutaneous tissue (fat, etc.) adds an other (literal) layer of difficulty, and is very difficult to master.
As with all art, some of the Olmec works are more masterful than others - but compare a Greek Hercules, the Olmec wrestler and a modern-day pro-wrestler or Maori haka performer. It's clear that the Olmec depiction looks much more like a real, fleshy human being that one might meet in life.
The fact that these figures are rendered in a medium as tricky as basalt makes it even more amazing.
And bear in mind: the Olmec was one of those progenitor societies, with (as far as we know) no preceding tradition of dedicated artistry. Sure, there were people who *made* art - but there was no long-running history of artistic tradesmanship to draw on, as there were for the vaunted Greco-Roman or Egyptian styles.
I've always wondered why Olmec art doesn't get more recognition and praise.
Thanks for providing an artist's perspective! It's not one I usually hear.
More impressive yet, they carved into basalt, a very hard stone, with no metal tools. The techniques can only be imagined, but the incredulous are quick to theorize with alien lasers and ancient CNC machines. They never consider a lifetime dedicated to one single task, just might lead to ingenuity and expertise.
@@mrrodriguezHLP Agreed! As I mentioned in my original post, basalt is a very challenging medium. My guess is that, rather than chisels, these were made by grinding away the stone - a process which would take forever, but possibly not as long as the constant maintenance that would be needed for chisels. Mind you, that's 100% guesswork on my part as, regrettably, I've never (yet) been close enough to an Olmec carving to study such tiny details.
@@mrrodriguezHLP People talking about ancient CNC machines amaze me with how they could skip over real abrasive technology like bow drills, planks, cloth, or cordage used with an abrasive powder. They'll say that sandpaper won't work granite hardness material without even knowing that aluminum oxide is what makes most modern sandpaper and that, I presume, any ancient culture that could access granite could access quartz sand.
I don't think there statues just imagine if they were real human heads petrified!!!
Mexico is a fascinating place with stunning landscapes!
M
And, tacos. Lots and lots and lots and **LOTS** of tacos. Hey, if tacos are what you're after, go no further! You've reached **TACO CENTRAL**...(ROFL)
Do Mexicans and other Spanish speaking Hispanics truly believe that they have any connection to these ancient Black people? If so they really don’t know their history and that’s sad 😞
@@jitumenefee1323 yeah in fact we do. Do you know ur own history? Sad you claim others instead of claiming ur own heritage. Pathetic
@@jitumenefee1323 they are not black. They are Amerindian.
I have no real connection to ancient Meso-America, but being an artist, I deeply appreciate the complexity of their art, and I think it's beautiful that it is their art by which we remember them. Since my first inquiry into the Olmec, I've been very impressed by those infamous basalt heads: their features are so clearly defined, the carving technique so delicate and precise, and their expressions communicate so much longing and internal struggle, it's hard for me to look away. Perhaps it's projection on my part, but I think that might be the way they would want to be remembered.
If your impressed and like the Olmec heads, you'll also like the colosal Toltec statues, the "Atlantes de Tula" in the state of Hidalgo. Some think they were space warriors due to the weapon carvings in their hands and also represent Quetzalcoatl. They weigh 8.5 tons and some are more than 4-5 meters in height, carved in basalt.
This is so cool. I studied Mesoamerican culture and art as an anthropology major. I even spent a semester in Mexico in 1980 - what a great experience.
These Olmecs head features are certainly not "European or African" but they may be trait of "population Y" that David Reich, Jeniffer Raff and. Skoglund discuss extensively.
We know already enough archeology and genetics to debunk any pseudoscientific claims of pre-Columbian"white gods" or other transatlantic contacts, but we still don't really know how many waves had or how diverse population of Ancient Beringia was, we also know now from David Reich that some Native Americans even migrated back to Asia some 5000 ya. and perhaps it were Native American sailors rather than Polynesians that settled Rapa Nui first!
Pity that so few Native People wants to get their DNA tested. Great loss for humanity
What are you thoughts on the purepecha ppl and their mystery of origin? Would love to know if you've found anything interesting
The deep you dig the blacker you go !!
I'm probably one of very few people who finds a previously undiscovered , informative video on the olmecs, and fistpumps and shouts "WOOOO!" like they're at a sporting event.
Here here
Yes but I don't know that this video is more than fluff and theory
Ditto lol
You better do, the life of the team is at a stake if they lose. ;p
Well, we don't know if Olmecs were into human sacrifice, it was just a joking comment.
are you aware the OLMECS they were in communication with the aliens and furthermore they was feeding the reptilians who are blood drinkers what do you think all of those sacrifices were about please take care of yourself peace and love
AA. I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to view and heart everyone's comments and even respond to a lot of them. So awesome of you!
You're welcome! I'm a servant to forgotten history and I'm just doing my part.
Yes, as a young kid in my native México, I remember these big big stone heads on the roads to Acapulco, Guerrero, on way to visit family with my abuela.
Cheers for my people!
The Olmecs ....if you go CA, started, example like picture...the mańs head in the stone-- warrior stuff. Like we see now, US soldiers paint their face, Chinese, Russians...
The Jaguar then was symbolism of strength and man becoming the Jaguar....Indians in CA look just like those stone faces.
Don’t let anyone still our history
@@kiinyuum8001 th-cam.com/video/SnnMfHTDNOM/w-d-xo.html
@MIDDLE PILLAR niagra falls was a tree. Now a stump
HOY EN DIA LAS KEBESAS OLMECAS ESTAN EN LAS CASAS DE NUESTROS POLITICOS DEL PRI, PAN. NUESTROS POLITICOS HAN SAQUEADO AL PAIS DURANTE AÑOS (FOBAPROA) Y SEGUIMOS PAGANDO.
@MIDDLE PILLAR No, Asian.
Tabasco native here. Thanks for sharing this, I really enjoyed your exposition and tone/delivery. I didn't know Olmecs [possibly] originated that MesoAm calendar. There is a sense of community around the word "Olmec" in my hometown. It's weird because there is little connection with modern "peoples" so it feels like cheap/manufactured 21st century tribalism. Like Italians from Brooklyn that can't speak Italian, no offense. "You're a modern Mexican from Tabasco, not an Olmec, calm down". I saw it in another comment and can corroborate. "He looks like an Olmec head" is a common way of mocking someone's physical looks in Tabasco, even in 2023. That human face, the Olmec -face is still around in Tabasco, maybe a little bit to the south of Veracruz as well. They do not look like your median face from the Yucatan peninsula (Maya) or the Valle de Mexico (Mexica and others).
A Cancun Chechen-Itza tour guide told our group that the chewing gum company Chiclets derived its name from a Mayan, possibly Olmec, word “chi-cle” which is the sound made when they would chew the rubber harvested from the trees. An American businessman that visited Chichen Itza in the 1920’s asked the locals what they had in their mouth & he got the idea of Chiclets from his visit. This is what I remember hearing.
That's correct! The gum came from the chicle sap. Eventually the chewing gum companies figured out how to make artificial gum. There's a whole history behind the boom and bust of the Chicle business.
Cool👍😊
as I remember chicle comes from the tree call Xitle and the guys name who commercialized it was Mr Chiclets as with this fact I have no science to back it up. It is what I heard from my father..
Just like Pepsi,the sound when you open the bottle or can!!! Pep-sssii
The whole world owes a lot to the ancient people's of Mexico.
What's fascinating about meso-American civilizations is that while Old World civilizations could borrow and learn from each other, the meso-Americans started from scratch.
@cewilliams26 And you have proof of this? Citations from reputable authorities? Do you also think the Pyramids were built by aliens from outer space?
@cewilliams26 I hear the earth is flat.
@@capmidnite "reputable authorities"
@@capmidnite
Phoenicians setting up Carthage around 1000 B.C.E is common knowledge wtf .-.
@@capmidnite Wrong
So from what I can see the Olmecs where like the Sumerians of America. Once they didn’t have to worry about food thanks to farming they applied their minds to writing, art etc. And the civilizations that came after them build upon their work.
A very good comparison.
they never came after they bridge in and destroyed for it is their nature this is why we were told not to Mingle socialize or mixed our blood with other races
Mexicans of today of been heavily mixed with European Spaniards. The Mexicans living today are a watered down version of ancient Mexicans like the Olmec,Maya,or Aztecs.
@@nycg801 there are millions of full Native ppl in the Americas. The USA is very misinformed about Native ppl. They are obsessed with the word extinct!! There are full Native Maya ppl all over Mexico and South America!! It's a scientific fact, other than registered full Native ppl, Mexican Americans and México carry more Native DNA than any other group! South America ain't no slouch either! Mexican on both sides of the border marry and have kids, that Native DNA keeps getting stronger and the other weaker. We have started stressing our kids not to mix!! Not to hate, but the importance of keeping it Native!! We r going to stress, not to hate Afros,but to tell them about their culture vultures delusions!! If u bring a fox into the hen house, the hens will disappear!! Let one culture vulture in, they will want the whole tribe!!
@@teresafernandez9849 I thought you guys were hit with the small pox they devastated you guys plus the onslaught by the Spaniards adding the admixture and subjugation of your culture and civilization how are there full bloods still out there ? And why haven’t they revived their culture and civilization??
Im floored by the wild conspiracies around the Olmecs being Africans and that anything MesoAm is just African. It has the same exact energy as European explorers finding Angkor Wat and saying that there is no way the natives were advanced enough and it was actually Alexander the Great who built it because he conquered eastwards.
History is such a rich panoply of cultures and development. I LOVE reading about how people interacted instead of the "everyone was isolated and had no contact with anyone they couldn't directly see". But insinuating that anything good or cool made by the Olmecs and by extension MesoAm was solely due to magical transatlantic Africans is insane. Extraordinary claims demand Extraordinary evidence
I want you to look up something that is rarely shown. Google this " back of Olmec heads"...then tell me what you think. Tell me another group of people who have braids (the back shows corn row braids under all of them)
@@snickerbar4u1natives had braids, Viking had braids, in sure there are other groups had braida
@@richyhu2042 they are from Africa..and there's no such things as black people.. just white names,
Is it a wild conspiracy or is it just basic common sense lol. I’ve never seen more obviously black sculptures in my entire life. And seeing how every black accomplishment gets covered up and stolen by others even in modern day, it makes more logical sense to most people that these guys were black
@StudyTrainAchieve37 according to black supremacist
I remember when I went for my first lesson at university about mesoamerican cultures that I was in awe discovering the symbologies they used and handed down generations after generations influencing the cultures that came after! The underworld concept is so fascinating!
I've lived in Tres Zapotes for two years when I was 10. It's still one of my favorite places in the world
What state is that in?
@@lucio.martinez Veracruz Mx
@@no_biggie_smalls Órale, jarocholandia.
Donde todo en Veracruz, es bello!
Saludos Guerrerenses!
@@lucio.martinez saludos bro, yo soy de Hidalgo pero Jarocholandia es bello al igual que todo Mexico 🙌🏼🙌🏼
Me No TV what-so-ever
May the legacy of this great ancient civilization never be forgotten. Viva Mexico
Mex is a shit hole. It should be colonized be White people.
@@perceptionmanagement2116 lol Shut the hell up
It won't dissappear.... I found put thru Ancestry,that I am a descendant
@@lalacanamar Basically everyone with any ancestors vaguely in that region is.
If you don't mind me asking, how do you feel about the popular fringe assertion that olmec were actually black?
Mexico has such beautiful history
Beyond beautiful.....intriguing, mysterious and perhaps a bit violent!
@@tedolphbundler724Fuckin every history is violent
A beautiful history of murder sacrifice of kidnapped villagers and tribes people...
The North American Indians were worse-genocidal maniacs!
@@tedolphbundler724Nothing compares to the European invaders barbarians
This video made me realise how much I missed learning about mesoamerican history and culture. I was able to see an Olmec carving of the colossal head in the Mexico city museum of Anthropology. It was an overwheming feeling standing next to a sculpture that was so ancient, it was carved with so much precision, you can just tell they paid attention to detail. They were very talented. Thank you so much for sharing this video....ps...I am deeply grateful to them for giving the world corn and chocolate.
I agree!
And vanilla
Yes, it’s been pretty much proven that those heads are Amero- Egyptian.
th-cam.com/video/KMAtkjy_YK4/w-d-xo.html
Yes. Nicole....but dont forget. that. All these. Olmec Heads.. pyramids...stellas..etc...were found. Buried..and. took..years..to. clean...organize..and study..all about..these.advance culture.....Olmec. Mayas. Toltecs and else....describe a global flood..and. no trace.of any carving tool was ever found....to explain how. These heads were made.....THERE'S a lot to talk about. It but. Wish you luck. piecing together..this amazing Culture
& potatoes
Same with the Aztec, that’s not what they called themselves. They were actually called the Mexica, pronounced “Mesheka”.
Those are facts. RIP Moctezuma. Long live los Mexica y los maayas
Sounds Like A Sister? 🧏🏾♂️
#Sheka 💯
Mexica where the word Mexico comes from
All of those ancient sculptures are breathtaking. Visiting the pyramids in Palenque is like being transported back to those ancient times. The jungle sounds, the mist, it’s a spiritual experience. I’m so proud of my Mexican heritage🇲🇽🇲🇽🇲🇽
Straight up
Your shit is Bs! You have nothing to add! Quik lying!
I've been to Palenque many times. Mushroom tripping & enjoying the cascades below the ruinus. I very much miss it.
excuse me Madam unfortunately you are not Mexican please do some research do not believe me or anyone else do some research and you will find out the original Mexicans were black people before your kind came out of the woods the Jungle the forest the caves and begin to mix in with the original people as usual with all nationality whiten out the original people and this is the reason all over the planet they was treated very badly because your ancestors knew who we were the fruit of bright intelligent civilized human beings on the planet Earth nonetheless you have a right to exist and you have a right to do research dig deep to find out who you are
@@davidtyson6869 Bro stop reading the pseudo ghetto literature. I DO believe the olmecs were possibly black...i do know other waves of migration of blacks came after....but not to say all original mexicans were black. Come on now...
Really incredible episode, man. Good job. The Olmecs were absolutely an incredible people, culture, civilization.
I recommend the anthropology museum in Mexico city. Mind blowing stuff in there. I could spend entire days in there just looking at all the stuff.
Thank you!
Anyone else notice a resemblance between the ceremonial sunken court of Teopateluanitlan (at 22:56) and the much larger ball courts that came after the Olmecs?
This guy does his homework. One of the best, and comprehensive presentation of the Olmec. Thanks!
You're welcome!
this guy is a liar and you are a liar supporter that you can build up false hope and keep all the benefits as a result of your ancestors wickedness and Theory of Everything . it will not change anything my people are awake now and they know what you and your kind have done I can only hope they would not be a revolution a civil war however it seems you people are not going to stop you people won't get back anything you stole and you people rather die and see your offspring lauded and booted into streets before you would share something that is rightfully mine and my kind thank you
I've noticed a lot of people from eastern and NE Oaxaca who have features that look exactly like the Olmec heads. I did not notice it so much in Vera Cruz, however, but I've spent much more time in Oaxaca than I have in Vera Cruz. I prefer the food in Vera Cruz and Yucatan to Oaxaca, but I like Oaxacan (Zapotec) art the best.
Lars M- So, do you call those people in Oaxaca "Neegaz" too?
@@armanddumont3959 you seem salty
@@armanddumont3959 probably not considering they're not black.
This is is true, many Oaxaquitas have such features. But usually, they’re very low IQ and rarely can speak Spanish.
You are entitled to your likes and dislikes, but man o man! Nothing like Mole from Oaxaca.🥰
I love learning about all of my Native American “brothers and sisters” here in the America’s. Thank you for this video.
Your welcome!
Are you black because according to black people Olmecs we're black and so we're the native American
@@LuisRios-bf9vn no, I’m an actual and true Native American who is indigenous to the America’s. I’m not just a person who is black or other with just a wishful theory who thinks they are truly indigenous to the America’s but aren’t.
But thank you anyhow for asking. Goodbye.
@@melissafreeman7416 I'm sure you heard of black people saying that they are the true native Americans and also claim that the Aztecs and Maya's were also black
it is time for you to look up to find out where did your brothers and sisters come from due to the fact this is not the mother planet go to your computer Library Museum and look up the face found on Mars now you're being educated
Your lectures are just GREAT: I ve learned a lot through you and I m very grateful to you for this. Because of it I thank you very-very much.
The fact that new and old world agricultural products remained separate until the arrival of Europeans argues convincingly against any sort of pre-Colombian extended contact.
True. The same with germs like smallpox.
@bon iverz lookup “contamination”
Lies. Trade was going on when Europe was stuck in the dark ages relearning longitude and latitude.
@@PLATINUMARCH Not lies. History.
@@PLATINUMARCH Let me guess you are an afrocentrist?
I like how you asked questions for me that I didn’t know I wanted to ask or have answers to! Great video!
Thank you!
His assertions or am answers were biased. Watch this video that speaks of the Olmecs from an objective perspective based upon thorough research:
th-cam.com/video/K-FG2oWl-2k/w-d-xo.html
My father is from Costa Rica. The natives that I've met have VERY similar characteristics to those head monuments. Very interesting.
So they are polynesian?
@@tedolphbundler724Ah, you're one of those people. Trying to start drama in the comments. 👍🏻 Enjoy.
@@toddp.3872 Yep.
@@tedolphbundler724 no theyre natives, would u say south east asians are polynesian?
@@SpartanChief2277 Maybe! I hadn't thought of it, but sure.
The quote near the end from Michael Coe really hammers it home. Impactful
Can't break these olmec nose.
Being buried for centuries has it's perks.
😆😅🤣
HAHAHAHAHA
LOL, they left us evidence ERRRWHERE. We was here 😀
Great comment soon he will say they where Aliens🤔😅
What gets me on that pyramid thing is how, after having the thought about them being influenced by the Egyptian Pyramids, how could you not think 'Wait thats just a really stable and relatively easy base structure for early peoples to build large monuments?'
(also where tf does the question mark go there? That hypothetical thought isn't a question, the whole statement about how one wouldn't reason that is.)
The sad part is i'm college educated.
Punctuation is hard for everyone.
The city of Houston was loaned an Olmec head. I remember being amazed at it as it stood in front of the Museum of Fine Art. Sometimes, flowers and offerings were left there. Eventually, it was returned. I miss seeing it still.
Wow. When was that? I would have liked to see it.
@@ddgddg7918 I think it was in the late 1950s or early 60s. They've been gone for a long time.
I saw that head ! I was shocked that it looked pretty strongly African to me!
@@tesmith47 they would if you dont know many Natives or Mexicans. Black people are not the only ones with large noses and lips and not all black people have larger noses and lips. I know plenty of people in Texas that resemble those statues and they are not African at all. I actually doubt they are African. 2 reasons. Informed, educated Africans were near Egypt. The rest were and in many cases still are exactly as they were then. Simple minded people that build and do very little in the way of innovative or technologically advanced construction. So it's doubtful they are African. Have a good day. 🙌🏼
@@mr.motivation3797 you do know the early progenitors of western civilization, Greeks, sent their children to African university's for advanced studies, , greater Zimbabwe is still there, and the library was old ,before there was any European civilization. Get better educated
Thank you for a most entertaining presentation of what could have been a most dry and boring history lesson. You kept it fresh and interesting throughout! Fasinating info and completely new insights of the past! ❤😂😊
Thank you!
A friend of mine is exactly like the statue at 27:27, he´s originaly from Tabasco state, all mesoamerican fenotype, not african. That mouth shape is very comon in south México and Guatemala. Olmecs are fascinating. NIce video.
Thank you!
How would you know if their ancestors didnt come from Africa?
good try, but these features are so obviously AFRICAN, I HAVE NEVER SEEN MESOAMERICAN FOLKS LOOKING LIKE THIS!!
Literally Honduras and Guatemala are known for their African ancestry. Mexicans today still joke about it. Im neutral in this conversation but you just made what seems to be the most ignorant comment.
My grand father was from vera cruz, mexico..when i see his picture, he, looks like a dark skin apache indian..He later moved to honduras were he, met my grandmother who was from belize.. My grandmother was a mulatto half black, AND half white. My father was born in honduras were he, met my mother, who also has indian features and her skin tone is is triguen~a. Im proud to be born in central america, our ancestors were a great people. Great job, thanks for the video, Blessings...
Thank you!
I used to work with a guy from El Salvador. He looked exactly like those Olmec statue heads. A lot of people noticed this. On a vacation to Mexico who got a tourist souvenir small statue head he kept on his desk. Some naive people thought the thing was sculpted just for him.
Great story Brian. Any other lies you'd like to tell?
You work construction long enough in the US, you're gonna see a bunch of dudes that look like this.
So he must of been Black then?
Plenty of people who look just like the stone head in Mexico. The Toltec people blood line also still exists. They have unusual large heads and can eat Habanero peppers like a kid eating skittles.
Awesome video. Thanks so much.
The Olmec were far more advanced than the Aztec or the Inca. I believe that we have bearly begun to scratch the surface when it comes to discovering their artifacts. I believe that they were here much longer than archeologists think. And I believe that their civilization was spread out over a much greater distance than just one corner of Mexico.
Definitely more than inca, but idk about aztec. Aztecs built on top of olmec
The Incas and Aztecs were the children of the black Chinese and Olmecs.
You think a lot of things.
@@mpforeverunlimitedAztec were very advanced and even had zoos and archeologists. They did alot of excavation of olmdc sites and incorporated much of the sciences of the Maya.
@@joeanderson8839 they where in many parts or America
Excellently researched, written and produced documentary. Be proud of your work! Signed: Subscribed.
Thank you!
Started with one video ended up watching all you have to offer. Absolutely wonderful content. Thank you for your work.
Thank you!
Great video. I live here in Mex. Thank you for the info. Everytime i pass through that part of Mexico. I always want to slow down and discover more. There are regions that look untouched with jungle that looks impassable from a distance. The locals know everything, of course. Timeless
Wish I could see it myself!
People fail To realize just how diverse and untouched many parts of Mexico are.
When I stayed in palenque, its in the jungle. 1 minute outside of town and it was pretty natural. It made the ruins there some of my favorite in the world. Lizards, monkey, butterflies, and all kinds of birds. We had monkeys at my jungle camp i stayed in. Very nice people and very safe. Lots of native Americans live there and around there if you want to visit a town. Waterfalls are pretty as all get out. I will say when it rains, it rains.
Really I love the parts of Mexico ove been. The silver country and highlands are cool. San cristabol was awesome.
Mexico city was super way more then I thought so I rebooked my flight to get 4 more day on that trip.
How do you know English if you live in Mexico?
@@sierra5713 people often speak and can write multiple languages. Ive met europeans that can speak 7 languages. Most can speak like 3.
it will be very interesting if you do some research on the Olmecs and their sacrifices and taking the bodies into the cave are you aware of the reptilian do you believe in aliens it is more than what meets the eye
Bravo! This ancient history documentary covers so much ground in such a captivating way.
Thank you!
Pyramid conspiracies really piss me off, the whole design philosophy is so simple yet genius. The taller a structure the more unstable it is, think about this for more than 5 minutes and anyone should be able to find out the same solution. Taller structures need a wider base... look at a damn mountain if you're still lost... why is a space fairing species so necessary for something so obvious
I think the pyramid is a praise to volcanoes the creator of all life
But what about the inter dimensional lizard people that consume the blood of virgins in American high schools.....
Ok, they starved out.
Your personal observation on chocolate was spot-on!
This was most interesting, we may never know what they called themselves. but one can see the influence.Each group adding another layer that became the whole.
I dig that
They were most likely called "The Guardians of Earth" in their ancient language.
Reminds me of how we may never know what certain Greek and Chinese civilizations called themselves
- Hey hey hey. Don't swear. We're werejaguars, not Swear-Jaguars. What are we?
- Werejaguars, not Swear-Jaguars.
excuse me we definitely know what we called our self Gods and we will reclaim our throne
Thanks for your video! I’m fascinated by older and ancient cultures. I want to see how they’re connected to one another as well as to later civilizations.
Olmecs, Mayans , Aztecs , Incas , Toltecs , Nazca Lines ,Machu Picchu , Pyramids .
Fascinations and Mysteries galore !
Correction: the captain of winning team of ball game was killed/sacrificed. Not the losing team’s captain. The losing team captain killed the winning team captain so the winner could ascend to the other side easier than a natural death...so to speak. Learned this while on tour of Chichen Itza recently.
No logic behind that thank god Spaniards arrived
This channel doesn't like being corrected so please watch your step...... Anything that doesn't follow "the narrative" is a conspiracy theory....
@@rabioramos1796 The Spaniards believe if you don't follow their god that you will be condemned to eternity in hell, and that anyone with a different God must be killed or converted. Where is the logic in that?
Fun fact, our current president Lic. Andres Manuel López Obrador aka AMLO is native from the state of Tabasco cradle of the Olmecs. He is the only president in our history that came from Tabasco. And he is very popular and beloved among mexicans especially in the southern states such as Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Campeche... Vivan los Olmecas!🇲🇽 Y tu canal también por su maravilloso contenido! 👏🏽
Thank you for this video! It's beautiful!! You are saving millions of people!
Wonderful presentation. Clear and on topic.
Thank you!
As I've seen it being pointed out, a main reason why so many of these ancient cultures had pyramids as a "common theme"... is because it's simply the most stable possible shape in general rather than what those conspiracy/ancient astronaut theorists would claim. Probably figured out by all these cultures without influence from others. As well as figured as a guess by anyone with slightest hint of physics or recalling playing with building blocks.
It's because of the fact that at one time there was on the planet a one world culture. If you believe that we are the first people to have civilization on the planet, then there is no use at all! However, there is mathematical evidence. th-cam.com/video/Xw9lTB0hTNU/w-d-xo.html (THIS IS NOT MY VIDEO) Get out your calculator!
Yeah honestly if there's anything that ancient civilizations, hell, even modern civilizations have taught us is that humans like to build gigantic things for art and spectacle.
Knowledge passed down.
I’ve actually been to chalcatzingo very beautiful. the monuments and scenery there are gorgeous.
One of the main reasons that the Olmec culture grew late compared to other civilizations due to various problems. Unlike other civilization areas, Native americans were new arrivals in mexico and it took them many time to settle well in a very unpredictable enviornment. Pre dynastic egypt, for example, was better and more fertile than modern, however mesoamerican lands, even though being better than other areas, is was still a challenging place to due unpredictable fierce rains, volcanoes, flooding and storms etc. Further domestication also must have played an important role in late development since all other cradle of civilizations (except Peru) domesticated burden carrying, and milk and wool providing animals like bovids, goats, sheeps and horses etc, something they lacked; it must have been a problem in early settlement as limited trade (trade plays an important role in development since an area cannot fullfil all needs). External influence is another problem. Even though major civilizations are independently born, still they were influence as one of the best example is that the Egyptian and Indian written language wasn't indeginous to them, that was rather imported!
So i think these factors played a great role for the late developement in Olmec civilizations compared to others:
1. More unpredictable and nasty enviornment than those of other civilizations.
2. Late arrival in lands.
3. No good animals to be domesticated.
4. No external influence.
If these conditions improved, i believe that they would also rival others in chronology. Anyways, its a more facsinating fact that they and peru, unlike others, grew and developed wholly independently.
Wonderful..spoken like a true European Historian..grew independent only influence was with trade..so on and so on..that the people in south America are aboriginal to the lands you speak.
@@charlessmith4009 Thanks.
@@seiko9361 you are one of the few in these comments that have real facts... it's hard being smarter this most.. in ancient history.. I been commenting on this video and your knowledge matches mines up to 95% so I know you know your stuff...much love to you
I love your channel! I'm obsessed with Mesoamerica and your videos are so interesting!
Thank you!
@@AncientAmericas No problem! I can't wait to see where this channel goes!
4:59 that is an awesome little sculpture
Great content! Have always been most curious about the Olmec.
Thank you!
This is dope!! I’ve been passing this video up for a year or two..
I’ve had it saved in my Watch Later..
Glad I started it.. 9:15
I am Mexican, from Morelos, those heads look like me and my family. Big nose big lips and straight hair. If you look at the DNA you'll see they are not african people. Its racist to believe that our culture was not sophisticated enough to do all this, that some else came and did all of it?
The Olmecs didn’t go extinct, they just evolved into new regions and people
Humans evolved into humans?
@@JMosUndefeated how dense are you
@@JMosUndefeated I believe he’s referring to cultural evolution.
They were kidnapped, killed and the remaining enslaved for generations till they forgot where they come from
@@seniorsabali8759 hardly so, they mixed into the surrounding populations. Genetic tests show they are the same as other mesoamerican populations.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful message on our history. The Olmec were a very intelligent and creative people with a purpose and destiny.
As a sculptor olmec is a go to forsure..thank you Very much!
Great video! For all of you D&D 5E DM nerds out there I am running The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan adventure and I would highly recommend using this video as a resource. Without spoiling anything many topics discussed here make an appearance in the game.
Thank you!
who are you what are you where are you from and why are you here on this Earth Hunter and gatherer
Their stone art is amazing.
Yup!
Fascinating! The history of the Americas and human civilization has been oft overlooked and downplayed. Regardless, there is a rich and complicated history there/here.. The Olmec's also seemed to be fond of carving spheres of all sizes and they left them all over the place. Some of them are simply enormous yet perfectly carved spheres. We don't know how they managed it as carving a perfect sphere from stone is quite difficult for us, even.
Thank you!
Watch this video that speaks of the Olmecs from an objective perspective based upon thorough research:
th-cam.com/video/K-FG2oWl-2k/w-d-xo.html
@@lorriebrown1243 The Olmecs were not Africans, and no, they did not have contact or any kind of influence coming from the continent of Africa. The author of this video has read those papers or "research's" like "they came before Columbus" and others, and he states that "They were painful to read"... I don't understand the fascination with Africa in the Americas first, why do people believe such nonsense?
The continent of Africa and it's people have a rich and colorful history of their own! there's no need to exaggerated and invent outlandish theories/stories of "African's in the Americas", when you can indulge and be proud of the history that came from the home land of Africa itself and their closest neighbors in the North and East... But the West before Columbus? it's all fairy tales.
@@kalprao No need to avoid truth either. Romans borrowed heavily from the Greeks but I don't see any Italians offended by that fact.
@@tedolphbundler724 That has nothing to do with the Olmecs and the Africans. The Romans and the Greeks occupied the same region, so they were bound to have influence each other, heck, the Moore's influenced much of Europe and they were African. That I can believe and it's a fact because they are literally nextdoor to Europe... But the Americas? Nah bro. That's another story.
This was a great video on the history of the giant Olmec stone heads! I enjoyed this from Orange County, NY and am a new subscriber. Thanks for sharing this well done video!
Thank you!
One theory of the ball game is that it was not the losers who were sacrificed but the winners. It is amazing though how widespread the game was. I saw the ball courts in Monte Alban Oaxaca (Zapotec) and in Chichen Itza Yucatan (Maya)
yeah it's totally true cause to they was a honor dying for their gods
there is a ball court at Wupatki near Flagstaff AZ
This video is superb. Have always loved the Olmec.
Thank you!
thank you for loving my me and my people
You're teaching me more then my school ever did on this subject
Very educational and very, very appreciated. Thank you for your efforts!
Thank you!
The main problem I always had with theories of transatlantic contact is wheels weren't used in the Americas.
If I were to visit a place where people were dragging things around the first thing I would do is say, Hey bud, let me show you how to make that easier.
@@jhowblackman There are plenty of uses for the concept of a wheel that have nothing to do with animals. The most obvious is the potter's wheel because that was actually used for a long time before somebody thought of using the concept for moving objects. Another is rollers.
@@hackermusic3355 technically they did have the wheel, as reflected in toys. However I do like your point.
@@macarde10 Yeah, hard to figure why somebody didn't put two and two together with the toys and bigger uses. Then again I feel pretty sure I wouldn't have even figured out that the seasons were a cyclical thing. :)
@@hackermusic3355 probably because they didn't need them. They clearly figured out better ways to transport things. They certainly weren't dumb and I'm sure if they would have needed them, they would have made things with wheels.
The aztecs and mayan had wheeled toys. Investing the wheel and axel independently from the rest of the world. Not only that, but their calendar incorporated cogged wheels..SMH, prior to eastern contact
They knew about this since 1865 but national geographic refusal to publish the findings.
Hey, if the evidence is out there, go out and publish it. Your academic career would be set for life!
@@AncientAmericas yea see that’s the thing anyone can publish almost anything but to be considered academic it would have to be peer to peer reviewed by experts in the field and deemed as fact or theory this is the main issue in modern archaeology and anthropology for example esteemed expert a who has spent a career of tryin to prove one point on a certain topic might not approve of expert b who has evidence that disputes there claims
@@AncientAmericas You are being naive. There is constant infighting by academics, and often all evidence be damned. In the end it becomes the politics of tiny Napoleons, whorish little people who seek support from their wealthy overlords.
We are in the age of Aquarius...if u know u know
@@AncientAmericas The evidence is out there, as is the truth as stated by Scully and Mulder. The question is, do you have the power of discernment to understand it, if you see and read it ?
A very nicely made and educational video! Thank you very much!
Thank you!
The truth will set everyone free; we don’t need any more deceit. We are all human beings and need to take care of each other and our beautiful planet.
Such a great and informative video. Not to many people talk about the Olmec people and their influence in mezzo America
Thank you!
This was a great video!
Thank you!
Want to say... you make very informative videos and I enjoy them a lot very well put together and presented thank you for your hard work and time as many will appreciate them in due time
Thank you!
this video was super helpful plz keep up the good work!😄😄
Thank you!
Thank you we really need to decipher those ancient olmec tablets
no we don't have to do anything just sit back and watch the sun do his job they better find a cave or a underground city the government has built many of them they are preparing have you not noticed the stem Trail this being sprayed into the clouds in to be at the sphere trying to block out the Sun no melanin goodbye
@@davidtyson6869 what is wrong with you
thanks for including sources. And excellent use of maps thanks it really helps
You're welcome!
anything to make you feel good give me you. Hope 85% of this lies you know it and you know I know it and you know the black people waking up oh uh oh
The last 5 minutes of this episode were really vital, thank you.
You're welcome!
Very informative. Thank you.
Very insightful information, I watched it to the end. I read some other stuff and you don't seem bias like the others. You had a lot of facts that kept me interested. Thanks you
Thank you!
I don't know how I missed this episode. Gotta love the Olmec.
I'm like to thank you for loving me and my people the truth is out now and they could no longer live a stolen identity
thank you we are still here we are coming out of psychological Wolfie of slavery and we as black people one day we'll return to our true identity and all others who try to apologize however nature the Sun the universe the Galaxy will exterminate them all
The Olmec being the "Mother Culture" of Mesoamerica is indeed the received wisdom from decades past but that view, I think, is changing. Sure, they had definite and significant influence but more recent discoveries have shown they were just one of several contemporary cultures in the region, all of which had some influence on later civilizations. It was rather a shock to me to read this as I'd been raised thinking it was the Olmec alone, but there it is, and this implies that the ideas originally attributed solely to the Olmec, but which now seem to have been fairly common in their day, go back even further in the cultural history of Mesoamerica. Which is even cooler, because it shows just how old those shared cultural traits are, and we have yet to find the true "mother culture".. Arguably, Oaxacan civilization had a bigger influence on the Pre-Classic Maya than the Olmec. See _The Origins of the Maya States_ by Traxler and Sharer. And the Pre-Classic seems to have been the height of the Maya culture, even if they didn't go so much into writing things down.
Yeah, this was one of my first videos and I really wish I could go back and redo it.
The issue with archeology is that , the oldest thing found is chosen as the first, instead of just acknowledging its at LEAST that old. Who knows what else has not been found under cities and towns etc
Let me know what updated booms I should be reading
@@venconmige As stated above, _The Origins of the Maya States_ by Traxler and Sharer is a good place to start.
I appreciate your objective approach and thought process surrounding these new discoveries of our shared past. Although we may be prohibited culturally from agreeing...Watch this video that speaks of the Olmecs from an objective perspective based upon thorough research:
th-cam.com/video/K-FG2oWl-2k/w-d-xo.html
This was a great video! Thank you for sharing about Indigenous history!
@@AncientAmericas Hey Thank you very much! Just watched your Maya video! It was really informational and definitely subbed! If you ever have any questions please don't hesitate to ask us! We look forward to watching more of your videos!
I just took a look at your channel and it looks very very interesting! I'll be watching!
Traveling to La Venta Museum in Tabasco in two weeks. Glad I came across this channel beforehand!
Great video! I took a few classes on mesoamerica and this is a great refresher.
Thank you!
Olmecs one of the best sculpture builders
They aren't sculptures. They are their real heads turned into stone.
@@askwillflynn stupid
@@Bryan-bd5kc look into it
that's the proof and evidence in a name another race of people that could build a permit I only know one black
@Someone and furthermore some of the Mexican are the best deceivers they take on many identities they can fit into many categories however just take a look into the country bass stole call Mexico and you will see that true identity thank you
I never could understand when discussing Olmec calendars you guys keep showing the Aztec Sun Stone...
Yeah, that is a spot on observation. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't used that as a visual because the sun stone is not a calendar. Oh well...
Racism
A BUNCH OF CONFUSED AND MISEDUCATED PEOPLE LMAO AWHOLE VIDEO ON OPINIONS, NO SOURCES NOR FACTS LOL ALSO DENIAL AS WELL LOL
exactly sir do you know why because if you don't have melanin please search stay out of the Sun as you have noticed they have been spraying stem trails into the atmosphere trying to block out the Sun won't be long now sir I'll see you in the underground city or a banded cave most likely the mall.
@@davidtyson6869 the brothers yo, the original culture vultures pretending to everything from the Samurai to first nations of the Americas to European Royalty.
The Olmec civilization, often showcased in history documentaries, is regarded as the "mother culture" of Mesoamerica. Flourishing from approximately 1500 to 400 BCE along the Gulf Coast of present-day Mexico, the Olmecs laid the groundwork for subsequent civilizations like the Maya and Aztecs. Their legacy includes monumental colossal stone heads, sophisticated art, early writing systems, and religious concepts that influenced later Mesoamerican societies. Documentaries frequently explore their advancements in urban planning, trade networks, and their mysterious decline, which still captivates historians and archaeologists today.
Hope to see more on the andes and hope to see videos on the Mississippian civilization which is often over looked
Don't you worry. We're heading north next episode.
@@AncientAmericas
Hey, just a note......i had a friend in Nacadoches, Tx that kept hitting a rock when she would cut her lawn. She finally dug it up and it was an Olmec head sculpture....a bit larger than the size of an average mans fist.....she kept it on her mantle, where i saw it and asked about it.
That would tell me they traveled and or traded beyond central America...then again, did they nake the head sculptures rhat small orxare they akeays larger?
@@sanchezatilano14 they were all over the gulf, everybody seems to forget the pyramids underwater off of Cuba
@@roscoe4092 BUILT BY AFRICANS! ANCIENT KEMET "egyptian" ARTIFACTS FOUND ALL AROUND THE AMERICAS ... MEANWHILE IDIOTS WOULD CLAIM ... THEY WERE TRADING WITH THE OLMECS IN THE AMERICAS LMAO WTF
@@judaprinxbeatz.8008 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 delusional 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Omg so I went on a binge rewatching your content a few days ago and then my government teacher was talking about native migration and he mentioned how the Olmec heads had "African characteristics" and I managed to work up the courage to correct him and say it was a misconception because of your video !! I ended up pointing him towards your channel since he said he'd only done a cursory glance and wanted to know more (tho I kinda doubt he was being sincere) so keep it up man! You're doing great stuff with this channel!
And if you see this Mr. Childs uhh I definitely was talking about another government teacher I would never doubt your sincerity on the internet no never
Thank you!
It is certain and unarguably African. Just the fact that the region had pyramids which are only found in Africa other than the America's. I guess you are complimenting him for excellent deception!!!
@@carolynmiles8426 the chinese has pyramids as well as many other civilization outside of África
What You said is no better than saying the aliens did it
Perfect example of miseducation from the Colonist!!
@@deepblueking5245 Yes the Chinese were comoletly Black.
Great video! Thank you for not being afraid of including the "conspiracy theories." Some of those pseudohistories have been gaining traction in recent years. It's been painful. You got a new subscriber! :)
Thank you!
Lmao
BS history needs to be addressed head on! This video is a great example of a serious minded person doing just that.
@@gyozakeynsianism Ivan Van Sertima was a highly skilled researcher. To dismiss his work as "bs" is very problematic. If someone showed up in the Antebellum South looking like an Olmec head, I think we all know what would have happened to them. The Olmec heads and other Meso-American artifacts suggest two different phenotypes; one is clearly African. Also, Columbus wrote that when he reached Haiti the native people told him that black-skinned people had come from the south and southeast in ships trading in gold-tipped metal spears. I don't think those Africans were the Olmec, but clearly, there was an African presence in the Americas. It is staggering that the obvious is cavalierly dismissed. And yes this is very Eurocentric. Let's get serious. Egyptians are still depicted as European!
@@nenobrown4189 It's a load of crap, and your explanation for its not being accepted is a conspiracy theory.
If you cared about good evidence, we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Im a direct decedent of olmecs, from veracruz