Ancient Agrarian Societies: The Olmec and Chavín

By Bridgette Byrd O’Connor
They didn’t leave us much, but two ancient societies in the Americas left enough clues behind to piece together the rituals and systems they may have developed several millennia ago.

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Detailed stone carving of a person sitting cross-legged in a dome

Introduction

About 15,000 years ago, some of the first humans came to the Americas. These early humans created foraging communities in North, Central and South America. Like other communities around the world, these foragers eventually began to farm crops. Usually, they settled around rivers. However, the Olmec were the first community to practice both farming and foraging methods like hunting and fishing. The Olmec lived in modern-day Mexico. One of the earliest settlements in South America was the community at Chavín de Huántar in modern-day Peru. These cultures had a lot in common with other Mesoamerican and Andean peoples. These peoples lived in these regions from the time the first humans arrived until the Spanish arrived in the fifteenth century. 

The Olmec (c. 1600-350 BCE)

Foraging communities lived in what is now south-central Mexico beginning around 2500 BCE. Around 1600 BCE, the Olmec people founded settlements along rivers near the Gulf of Mexico. Today, those areas are part of Tabasco and Veracruz, Mexico. These settlements included structures for religious ceremonies and more permanent living sites. The largest Olmec city was San Lorenzo. At first, it was just the rulers and religious leaders of Olmec society that lived in San Lorenzo. 

Map shows major Olmec settlement sites along the Gulf of Mexico
Olmec, major settlement sites (yellow) and secondary sites (red). By Madman2001, CC BY 3.0.

Archaeologists believe that kings or chiefs governed the other Olmec cities. These rulers probably had control over government, religion and business activity in Olmec society. This control allowed them to rule over the cities.

The Olmec did not leave any written records. However, archaeological evidence tells us a lot about them. The most well-known artifacts of the Olmec are the giant head sculptures. Each head weighed around 20 tons, about as heavy as three elephants.

Very large, detailed Olmec sculpture of a head.
Olmec head, San Lorenzo, c. 1200-900 BCE. By Mesamerican, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Olmecs made art using other materials. They often obtained these materials from outside the Olmec settlements. This suggests the Olmec had large trade networks with other cultures. The Olmec likely influenced later societies like the Maya and Aztecs, whose art and culture was similar to the Olmecs.

The main Olmec cities were reserved for the kings and upper-class members of Olmec society. They were also used for religious ceremonies. Most Olmec people lived in rural areas, where they worked as farmers and craftspeople. The Olmec society was one of the first to discover how to make rubber from the rubber tree.

Archaeologists also found the ruins of a ball court. The Olmec used the court to play an ancient Mesoamerican game using a rubber ball. The Olmec ballgame may have been played for sport. It also may have been part of a religious ritual where the losing team was killed in a sacrifice. The sacrifices may have been used to control the people through religion and fear.

At its largest, Olmec society may have had as many as 20,000 people. However, there are no written documents to confirm these numbers. Instead, archaeologists have to estimate based on the size of Olmec land, as well as artifacts.

By 350 BCE, Olmec society had ended. Historians have two main ideas about what happened to the Olmecs. It’s possible the centers for religious life had to be moved. As a result, the cities shrunk. Scientists have also suggested that climate change and volcanic eruptions could have ruined parts of Olmec farmland.

Chavín (c. 900-250 BCE) 

A photograph of an interior hallway featuring large stone walls and ceiling
Chavín de Huántar, interior hallway of the temple. By Martin St-Amant, CC BY 3.0.

About 5,500 km (3,500 miles) South of the Olmecs, a society known as the Chavín developed. The Chavín lived near two rivers on the coast of Peru. They also lived in the Andes Mountains region. Like the Olmec up north, Chavín culture did not leave any written records. We don’t even know what they were really called. Chavín comes from the Spanish name for the temple ruins at Chavín de Huántar.

Archaeologists have determined that the temple was used for religious ceremonies. It may have been shared by different settlements in the region. However, archaeologists haven’t found any evidence that people lived inside the temple. Dwelling and agricultural sites were found outside of the temple.

The Chavín produced more pottery after 500 BCE. This suggests that the Chavín were producing more food. They used the pottery to store the extra food.

Chavín goods have been found hundreds of miles away from Chavín land. Other communities used the Chavín artistic style in their own art. Scientists believe this is because the Chavín traded and communicated with other communities.

Chavín society was organized in a hierarchy. Members of Chavín society were ranked by social status. At the top of the hierarchy were shaman-priests, who had the most power. Like the Olmecs, the residents of Chavín may have been controlled by religion and fear. This suggests that Chavín society may have had a central political ruler, such as a religious leader. However, we don’t really know how their government was organized. 

Photo of a llama sitting on the grass
The Chavín used llamas to transport goods over long distances, though this one does not appear to be in a hurry. By Johann “nojhan” Dréo, CC BY-SA 2.5.

At its largest, the center of Chavín society was large enough to support a population of about 2,000-3,000 people. Scientists are not sure what happened to the Chavín. It’s possible that their land was overused, resulting in environmental changes. Another possibility is that the Chavín’s religious site became less important for some reason. This may have motivated the Chavín people to move away.

Sources

Brown, Cynthia Stokes. “Mesoamerica: Repeated Reinventions.” Big History Project, 2014.

Cartwright, Mark. “Olmec Civilization.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2018. Accessed November 29, 2018. https://www.ancient. eu/Olmec_Civilization/

Clark, J. E. “The Arts of Government in Early Mesoamerica.” Annual Review of Anthropology 26 (1997): 211-234.

Fowler, William R., McCafferty, Geoffrey G., Cheetham, David, & Blomster, Jeffrey P. “Special Section: Rethinking the Olmecs and Early Formative Mesoamerica, Introduction.” Ancient Mesoamerica 21, no. 1 (2010): 91-94.

Khan Academy. “The Olmec.” Khan Academy, 2018. Accessed November 29, 2018. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-americas/a/the-olmec-article

Learn, Joshua Rapp. “Ancient Maya Bloodletting Tools or Common Kitchen Knives? How Archaeologists Tell the Difference.” Smithsonian, 2016. Accessed November 29, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/ancient-maya- bloodletting-tools-or-kitchen-knives-how-archaeologists-tell-difference-1-180960232/

Rosenfeld, Silvana A. and Stefanie L. Bautista, eds. Rituals of the Past: Prehispanic Colonial Case Studies in Andean Archaeology. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado, 2017.

Bridgette Byrd O’Connor

Bridgette Byrd O’Connor holds a DPhil in history from the University of Oxford and taught the Big History Project and World History Project courses and AP US government and politics for 10 years at the high-school level. In addition, she’s been a freelance writer and editor for the Crash Course World History and US History curricula. She’s currently a content manager for the OER Project.

Image credits

Creative Commons This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0 except for the following:

Cover: The Olmec city of La Venta was originally constructed in 1500 BC and flourished in the last centuries before 600 BC, pictured is an Olmec altar figure, in the La Venta Museum - Villahermosa, Tabasco © Richard I’Anson / Lonely Planet Images / Getty Images

Olmec, major settlement sites (yellow) and secondary sites (red). By Madman2001, CC BY 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olmec_Heartland_Overview_4.svg#/media/File:Olmec_Heartland_Overview_4.svg

Olmec head, San Lorenzo, c. 1200-900 BCE. By Mesamerican, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Olmec_Head_No._1_at_Xalapa,_Veracruz,_Mexico.jpg#/media/File:Olmec_Head_No._1_at_Xalapa,_Veracruz,_Mexico.jpg

Location of Chavín and its area of influence. By Zenyu, public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chavin-small.png#/media/File:Chavin-small.png

Chavín de Huántar, interior hallway of the temple. By Martin St-Amant, CC BY 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Chav%C3%ADn_de_Huantar_Ao%C3%BBt_2007_-_Corridors_Int%C3%A9rieurs_1.jpg#/media/File:Chav%C3%ADn_de_ Huantar_Ao%C3%BBt_2007_-_Corridors_Int%C3%A9rieurs_1.jpg

The Chavín used llamas to transport goods over long distances, though this one does not appear to be in a hurry. By Johann “nojhan” Dréo, CC BY-SA 2.5 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Lama_glama#/media/File:Llama_lying_down.jpg


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