The Olmec civilization was quite possibly the first true civilization in Mesoamerica, located in the tropical lowlands of Mexico. They produced the earliest sophisticated art and their distinctive style provided a model for the Maya, Aztec and other later civilizations in the region. The Olmec culture began in approximately 1200 B.C., more than 1,500 years before the Maya's. The Olmecs built large settlements, established elaborate trade routes and developed religious rituals, including ceremonial ball games, blood-letting and human sacrifice. .
The trade routes the Olmecs established allowed their influence to spread as far as Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Costa Rica and El Salvador. San Lorenzo was the capital of the Olmec civilization, with smaller cities such as Laguna de los Cerros, La Venta, Las Limas and Tres Zapotas. San Lorenzo is on a fertile plain, which lies along the Chiquito River. Anthropologists have determined from the evidence found in San Lorenzo that the Olmecs had class structure with luxurious housing for the upper classes and modest structures for the middle class and poor. .
The agriculture of the Olmecs is one of the most obvious examples of social stratification. In San Lorenzo, the rainy season lasts from May to November. The land that is below the 75-foot altitude line is covered with water during these months. Though even as the waters recede, the land is mainly clay, which makes any agricultural endeavor almost impossible. Above the high water mark of 75 feet, the soil is fertile and can be cultivated all year long. However, this land must be cut into terraced plots of land into the mountainsides. This land produced 2 major harvests a year for the Olmecs. The natural levees along the Chiquito River were the most fertile. During the rainy season, the land gets covered with mineral rich silt. Corn was the largest agricultural product for these areas.
