Olmec Religion - the First Mesoamerican Civilization

Olmec Religion - the First Mesoamerican Civilization The Olmec civilization (1200-400 B.C.) was the first major Mesoamerican culture and laid the foundation for several later civilizations. Many aspects of Olmec culture remain a mystery, which is not surprising considering how long ago their society went into decline. Nevertheless, archaeologists have been able to make surprising progress in learning about the religion of the ancient Olmec people. The Olmec Culture The Olmec culture lasted roughly from 1200 B.C. to 400 B.C. and flourished along Mexicos Gulf coast. The Olmec built major cities at San Lorenzo and La Venta, in the present day states of Veracruz and Tabasco respectively. The Olmec were farmers, warriors and traders, and the few clues they left behind indicate a rich culture. Their civilization collapsed by 400 A. D. - archaeologists are unsure as to why - but several later cultures, including the Aztec and the Maya, were profoundly influenced by the Olmec. The Continuity Hypothesis Archaeologists have struggled to put together the few clues that remain today from the Olmec culture which vanished well over 2,000 years ago. Facts about the ancient Olmec are hard to come by. Modern researchers must use three sources for information on the religion of ancient Mesoamerican cultures: Analysis of relics including sculpture, buildings and ancient texts when availableEarly Spanish reports of religious and cultural practicesEthnographic studies of modern-day traditional religious practices in certain communities Experts who have studied the Aztecs, Maya and other ancient Mesoamerican religions have come to an interesting conclusion: these religions share certain characteristics, indicating a much older, foundational system of belief. Peter Joralemon proposed the Continuity Hypothesis to fill in the gaps left by incomplete records and studies. According to Joralemon there is a basic religious system common to all Mesoamerican peoples. This system took shape long before it was given monumental expression in Olmec art and survived long after the Spanish conquered the New Worlds major political and religious centers. (Joralemon quoted in Diehl, 98). In other words, other cultures can fill in the blanks in regards to Olmec society. One example is the Popol Vuh. Although it is normally associated with the Maya, there are nevertheless many instances of Olmec art and sculpture that seemingly show images or scenes from the Popol Vuh. One instance is the nearly identical statues of the Hero Twins at t he Azuzul archaeological site. The Five Aspects of Olmec Religion Archaeologist Richard Diehl has identified five elements associated with Olmec Religion. These include: A cosmos which identifies the socio-cultural context within which Gods and man interactedDivine beings and gods who controlled the universe and interacted with menA shaman or priest class who acted as intermediaries between the common Olmec people and their gods and spiritsRituals enacted by shamans and/or rulers that reinforced the concepts of the cosmosSacred sites, both natural and man-made Olmec Cosmology Like many early Mesoamerican cultures, the Olmec believed in three tiers of existence: the physical realm they inhabited, an underworld and a sky realm, home of most of the gods. Their world was bound together by the four cardinal points and natural boundaries such as rivers, the ocean and mountains. The most important aspect of Olmec life was agriculture, so it is no surprise that the Olmec agricultural/fertility cult, gods and rituals were extremely important. The rulers and kings of the Olmec had an important role to play as intermediaries between the realms, although it is unknown exactly what relationship to their gods they claimed. Olmec Deities The Olmec had several deities whose images repeatedly appear in surviving sculptures, stonecarvings and other artistic forms. Their names have been lost to time, but archaeologists identify them by their characteristics. No fewer than eight regularly-appearing Olmec deities have been identified. These are the designations given to them by Joralemon: The Olmec DragonThe Bird MonsterThe Fish MonsterThe Banded-eye GodThe Maize GodThe Water GodThe Were-jaguarThe Feathered Serpent Most of these gods would later figure prominently in other cultures, such as the Maya. Currently, there is insufficient information about the roles these gods played in Olmec society or specifically how each was worshiped. Olmec Sacred Places The Olmecs considered certain man-made and natural places sacred. Man-made places included temples, plazas and ball courts and natural places included springs, caves, mountaintops and rivers. No building easily identifiable as an Olmec temple has been discovered; nevertheless, there are many raised platforms which probably served as bases upon which temples were built of some perishable material such as wood. Complex A at La Venta archaeological site is commonly accepted as a religious complex. Although the only ballcourt identified at an Olmec site comes from the post-Olmec era at San Lorenzo, there is nevertheless much evidence that the Olmecs played the game, including carved likenesses of players and preserved rubber balls found at the El Manatà ­ site. The Olmec venerated natural sites as well. El Manatà ­ is a bog where offerings were left by the Olmecs, probably those who lived at San Lorenzo. Offerings included wooden carvings, rubber balls, figurines, knives, axes and more. Although caves are rare in the Olmec region, some of their carvings indicate a reverence for them: in some stonecarvings the cave is the mouth of the Olmec Dragon. Caves in Guerrero state have paintings inside which are associated with the Olmec. Like many ancient cultures, the Olmecs venerated mountains: an Olmec sculpture was found close to the summit of the San Martà ­n Pajapan Volcano, and many archaeologists believe that man-made hills at sites such as La Venta are meant to represent sacred mountains for rituals. Olmec Shamans There is strong evidence that the Olmec had a shaman class in their society. Later Mesoamerican cultures which derived from the Olmec had full-time priests who acted as intermediaries between the common people and the divine. There are sculptures of shamans apparently transforming from humans into were-jaguars. Bones of toads with hallucinogenic properties have been found at Olmec sites: the mind-altering drugs were presumably used by shamans. The rulers of Olmec cities probably served as shamans as well: rulers were likely considered to have a special relationship with the gods and many of their ceremonial functions were religious. Sharp objects, such as stingray spines, have been found at Olmec sites and were most likely used in sacrificial bloodletting rituals. Olmec Religious Rituals and Ceremonies Of Diehls five foundations of Olmec religion, the rituals are the least known to modern researchers. The presence of ceremonial objects, such as stingray spines for bloodletting, indicate that there were, indeed, important rituals, but any details of said ceremonies have been lost to time. Human bones - particularly of infants - have been found at some sites, suggesting human sacrifice, which was later important among the Maya, Aztec and other cultures. The presence of rubber balls indicates that the Olmec played this game. Later cultures would assign a religious and ceremonial context to the game, and it is reasonable to suspect that the Olmec did as well. Sources: Coe, Michael D and Rex Koontz. Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. 6th Edition. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2008Cyphers, Ann. Surgimiento y decadencia de San Lorenzo, Veracruz. Arqueologà ­a Mexicana Vol XV - Num. 87 (Sept-Oct 2007). P. 36-42.Diehl, Richard A. The Olmecs: Americas First Civilization. London: Thames and Hudson, 2004.Gonzalez Lauck, Rebecca B. El Complejo A, La Venta, Tabasco. Arqueologà ­a Mexicana Vol XV - Num. 87 (Sept-Oct 2007). P. 49-54.Grove, David C. Cerros Sagradas Olmecas. Trans. Elisa Ramirez. Arqueologà ­a Mexicana Vol XV - Num. 87 (Sept-Oct 2007). P. 30-35.Miller, Mary and Karl Taube. An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. New York: Thames Hudson, 1993.

10 Things You Should Know About Gender in Spanish

10 Things You Should Know About Gender in Spanish Here are 10 facts about Spanish gender that will be useful as you learn the language: 1. Gender is a way of classifying nouns into two categories. Spanish nouns are masculine or feminine, although there are a few that are ambiguous, meaning that Spanish speakers are inconsistent in which gender is applied to them. Also, some nouns, particularly those that refer to people, can be masculine or feminine depending on whether they refer to a male or female, respectively. The grammatical significance of gender is that adjectives  and articles referring to nouns must be of the same gender as the nouns they refer to. 2. Spanish also has a neuter gender that applies to one definite article and a few pronouns. By using the definite article lo, it is possible to make an adjective function as if it were a neuter noun. The neuter pronouns generally are used to refer to ideas or concepts rather than to things or people. They can also be used to things whose identities arent known, as in  ¿Quà © es eso? for What is that? 3. Except when referring to people and some animals, the gender of a noun is arbitrary. Thus, things associated with females can be masculine (for example, un vestido, a dress). And things associated with males (for example, virilidad, masculinity) can be feminine. In other words, there is no way to predict a nouns gender from its meaning. For example, silla and mesa (chair and table, respectively) are feminine, but taburete and sof (stool and couch) are masculine. 4. Although feminine words as a general rule refer to females, and masculine words to females, it is possible to do the opposite. The words for man and woman, hombre and mujer, respectively, are the gender youd expect, as are words for girl and boy, chica and chico. But it is important to remember that the gender of a noun attaches to the word itself rather than to what it refers. So persona, the word for person, is feminine regardless of who it refers to, and the word for baby, bebà ©, is masculine. 5. Spanish grammar has a preference for the masculine gender. The masculine might be considered the default gender. Where masculine and feminine forms of a word exist, it is the masculine that is listed in dictionaries. Also, new words that enter the language are typically masculine unless theres a reason to treat the word otherwise. For example, the imported English words marketing, suà ©ter (sweater), and sndwich are all masculine. Web, referring to a computer network, is feminine, probably because it as a shortened form of pgina web (web page), and pgina is feminine. 6. Many words have separate masculine and feminine forms. Most if not all of these are used for referring to people or animals. In most cases for singular nouns and adjectives, the feminine form is made by adding an a to the masculine form or changing an ending e or o to a. A few examples: amigo (male friend), amiga (female friend)profesor (male teacher), profesora (female teacher)sirviente (male servant), sirvienta (female servant) A few words have irregular differences: tigre (male tiger), tigresa (female tiger)rey (king), reina (queen)actor (actor), actriz (actress)toro (bull), vaca (cow) 7. There are a few exceptions to the rule that words ending in o are masculine and many exceptions to the rule that words ending in a are feminine. Among the feminine o words are mano (hand), foto (photo), and disco (disco). Among the masculine a words are numerous words of Greek origin such as dilema (dilemma), drama, tema (subject), and holograma (hologram). Also, many a words that refer to occupations or types of people - among them atleta (athlete), hipà ³crita (hypocrite), and dentista (dentist) - can be either masculine or feminine. 8. As the culture in which Spanish is spoken changes, so is the way the language treats gender as it applies to people. For example, at one time la doctora almost always referred to a doctors wife, and la jueza referred to the wife of the judge. But these days, those same terms usually mean a female doctor and judge, respectively. Also, it is becoming more common to use terms such as la doctor (rather than la doctora) and la juez (rather than la jueza) when referring to female professionals. 9. The masculine form is used to refer to mixed groups of males and females. Thus, depending on the context, los muchachos can mean either the children or the boys. Las muchachas can refer only to the girls. Even padres (padre is the word for father) can refer to parents, not just fathers. However, the use of both masculine and feminine forms - such as muchachos y muchachas for boys and girls rather than just muchachos - is growing more common. 10. In colloquial written Spanish, it is becoming more common to use as a way of indicating that a word can refer to either males of females. In traditional Spanish, if you were writing a letter to a group of friends, you might open with the masculine form, Queridos amigos, for Dear friends even if your friends are of both sexes. Some writers these days would use Querids amigs instead. Note that the at symbol, known as the arroba in Spanish, looks something like a combination of an a and an o.