The Olmecs of southern Mexico were America's oldest civilization and Mesoamerica's 'Mother Culture'. Long famous for their Colossal Heads carved from giant boulders, the Olmecs have fascinated the public and archaeologists alike since the 1940s when National Geographic magazine reported the initial explorations of their centres. Despite well-publicized discoveries of spectacular basalt sculptures, portable jade objects and richly decorated pottery vessels, until quite recently almost nothing was known about Olmec history, foreign contacts and daily life. Now archaeologists have recovered information that allows them to assemble a reasonably complete picture of Olmec culture, its accomplishments and its impact on later Mexican civilizations. The Olmecs presents the first modern overview of information from recent archaeological field projects and studies of Olmec art. In addition to detailed consideration of Olmec life, culture and art, it examines the Olmec presence in the surrounding areas of Mexico and central Mexico and their role in the formation of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture. Profusely illustrated, this engagingly written survey will become the standard work on this enigmatic culture.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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"'The first truly complete and authoritative account of this 3,000-year-old culture' - Michael D. Coe, Yale University"
About the Author
Richard A. Diehl is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa, where he serves as Executive Director of Alabama Museums and Director of the Alabama Museum of Natural History. His books include Tula: the Toltec Capital of Ancient Mexico, In the Land of the Olmecs (with Michael D. Coe) and Mesoamerica after the Decline of Teotihuacan: AD 700-900 (co-edited with Janet Catherine Berlo).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
America's First Civilization,
By
This review is from: The Olmecs: America's First Civilization (Ancient Peoples and Places) (Paperback)
In The Olmecs (2004), Richard Diehl presents a comprehensive summary of the current state of knowledge of America's first civilization. The volume covers Olmec history, daily life and culture, art, and the impact of the Olmec beyond their realm. Much of this information was previously available in scholarly journals only. Many fine illustrations (some in color) fill this book. Throughout the book the author shows how ideas about Olmec history and culture have changed as new information has become available. His enthusiasm for his subject is evident. In the final chapter on Epi-Olmec culture, the author observes "the piedmont and plain between the Tuxtla mountains and the town of Alvarado contain many large unexplored ancient centers." Clearly much more can still be learned about the Olmec, and opportunities exist for enterprising students.
23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Olmecs: America's First Civilization (Ancient Peoples and Places) (Hardcover)
Surprisingly enough, academician and scholar Richard Diehl's The Olmecs: America's First Civilization is the first complete survey and overview analysis of the peoples who created the first complex culture in Mesoamerica, adding new information from recent archaeological findings to consider Olmec life, culture and art. Diehl's background as a professor of anthropology at the University of Alabama and his personal experience conducting archaeological investigations in Mexico lend appreciable substance and insight to his authoritative, "reader friendly" coverage, which is packed with illustrative black and white photos of Olmec relics. Highly recommended!
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
average,
By Sky (Mexico) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Olmecs: America's First Civilization (Ancient Peoples and Places) (Hardcover)
I had expected a little bit more. Richard Diehl's "The Olmec. America's First Civilization" is a typical Thames and Hudson "Ancient People and Places" Publication (like M. Coe's "The Maya" or R. Townsend's "The Aztec"): "reader friendly" as expressed by another review, clearly not too academic (that means dissapointing to the scholar), light style. Probably due to the lack of data there is quite a lot of speculation and repetition. Like the recent "Olmeca: Balance y Perspectivas"-Roundtable it is very much a proof that not much has happened since 1996 "The Olmec World-Ritual and Rulership". It is still nice reading and surely informative for travellers, beginning students and laymen alike.
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