Olmec

American  

[ol-mek, ohl-] / ˈɒl mɛk, ˈoʊl- /

adjective

1. of or designating a Mesoamerican civilization, c1000–400 b.c., along the southern Gulf coast of Mexico, characterized by extensive agriculture, a dating system, long-distance trade networks, pyramids and ceremonial centers, and very fine jade work.

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noun

plural

Olmecs,

plural

Olmec

1. a member of the ancient people who belonged to the Olmec civilization.

Olmec British  

/ ˈɒlmɛk /

noun

1. a member of an ancient Central American Indian people who inhabited the southern Gulf Coast of Mexico and flourished between about 1200 and 400 _bc

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adjective

1. of or relating to these people or their civilization or culture

Example Sentences

Completing the immersive effect, shadows projected on the rear wall evoke Los Angeles street art and sights — an Olmec head; a raven on a power line.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2024

The Olmec sculpture’s return to Mexico was hailed by Mexico Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who spoke just before it was carefully hauled onto a plane for its trip back home.

From Reuters • May 27, 2023

It was carved from volcanic rock sometime between 800-400 BC during the heyday of the Olmec civilization, one of Mexico’s earliest complex societies with sites mostly clustered around the country’s Gulf coast.

From Reuters • May 27, 2023

Like much related to the Olmec, however, the extent of their influence is a question we may never answer with certainty.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

So widespread was Olmec iconography—jaguar babies, carved stelae, distinctively shaped ceramics—that many archaeologists believed its very ubiquity was evidence that the Olmec “not only engendered Mesoamerica but also brought forth the first Mesoamerican empire.”

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann