The Economic activities of the Olmecs Were based on the exchange of products resulting from agriculture, fishing, hunting and handicrafts mainly.
The economic system implemented by the Olmec civilization can be considered as an example of evolution and development as society expands.
Olmeca Room. National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico)
In Pre-Classic Mesoamerica, the Olmec economy is developed through the exchange of goods as the main activity.
It is considered a livelihood economy, which uses the items produced and locally grown for the acquisition of others, more exotic or useful, with agricultural qualities, due to the predominance of the crop as a practice against fishing and hunting.
Trade and exchange of goods may be considered indispensable for the continuous architectural development of the Olmec civilization .
Different types of stones and materials were imported from other regions to erect temples and ceremonial centers, continuously ornamented with the most exotic material; Sculptures and crafts.
The natural difficulties presented by the settlements and Olmec populations give this company greater merit.
The Olmec civilization is also credited with having developed the first long-distance exchange routes, which allowed, not only access new materials and resources, but also instituting organizational changes at a social level.
Products of the Olmec economy for trade and commerce
Olmec head.
Initially, Olmec commercial activities could be considered as part of a mixed economy that included the exchange of domesticated crops (maize, beans, pumpkins, etc.), wild dogs and plants; Subsequently fishing.
The small variations of some products among the Olmec subregions began to stimulate the exchange at short distance, allowing the towns to count on resources outside their locality.
Over time, the Olmec began to export their manufactured goods; Hence Olmec artifacts and sculptures have been found in distant places.
It has been determined that there is no direct evidence of the exchange of food between Olmecs and distant civilizations, but it is considered that this technique is the only justification for the Olmecs to have had access to inputs such as salt.
Beyond basic resources and manufactured utilities or tools, much of the Olmec trade was focused on the exchange of exotic and ornamental objects, of higher quality than those locally procured.
A feature of trade between Mesoamerican civilizations Was that what for one region was considered a resource a common object, another considered it a resource worthy of necessity.
Exotic and ornamental objects
Sample of Olmec sculpture:"The twins". Photo retrieved from"The Olmec Civilization and Background"
Trade between regions opened the possibility of new raw materials for construction and precious materials for the manufacture of ceremonial ornaments.
Obsidian was one of the first rocks that reached the Olmec civilization through the exchange, since its presence was scarce in the regions that inhabited.
This was used in the manufacture of tools that the Olmecs later marketed as finished products.
The expansion of the routes of exchange and the possibility of crossing greater distances allowed the Olmecs to have contact and to make use of jade, serpentine, cinnabar, andesite, schist, chromite, etc.
In this way they were made with the necessary stones for the construction and expansion of their temples and centers of ceremony.
It should be noted that the more Olmec access to new exotic and precious materials as commercial development increased, ceremonies and rituals began to become much larger and more spectacular.
Evolution of the exchange system
Olmec agriculture
It has been considered that the Olmec economic system was able to transit through two major market stages during the period of existence of this civilization.
A first stage of isolated trade and of little transit and exchange, where the main products were for the sustenance and materials for the constructions.
Some Olmec peoples had"commercial consulates"in certain regions; Small camps with soldiers who guarded the products and merchandise that were far from the main settlements.
The boom and expansion of agriculture had a significant impact on the Olmec economy, boosting what would be the beginning of its second stage: the invention and development of long distance exchange routes.
Those first routes extended from the Gulf of Mexico, where were the main towns and cities, to territories higher in what today is Mexico and part of Guatemala. This commercial expansion began in the year 1400 BC. approximately.
Exchange with other civilizations
Olmec dress drawing
Olmec's commercial expansion allowed them to make contact with civilizations settled in other regions, such as the Mocaya, the Tlatilco and the city of Chalcatzingo.
This contact not only allowed fruitful trade routes to open, but also a cultural transfer between the groups, where Olmec sculptures and pieces of art came to influence the crafts and the manufacture of other regions.
Among the products marketed with these civilizations, the Olmecs could have a first contact with items such as cocoa, salt, animal skins, ornamental feathers and some gemstones like jade and serpentine.
As specialists in the export of manufactures, the Olmec influence in these civilizations was mainly artistic artisanal and cultural.
Importance of economic development
Olmeca dance
The most developed stage of the Olmec economy was not only that of a much larger civilization than centuries before, but it was also the beginning of new forms of organization that ensured that commercial activities were not truncated.
The chains of command multiplied, generating new functions within the citizens, even coming to exist managers, not only the protection of goods, but their redistribution between regions.
Olmec society began to socially stratified, by classes, determined according to the exoticity of objects and materials possessed.
Among the considered low classes, specialized practices and trades proliferated, so that the production of manufactured objects and handicrafts was multiplied for later trade.
The economic legacy of the Olmec civilization can be pointed out as the continuity and effectiveness that was given to long distance exchange routes, along with the innovations that the later Mesoamerican cultures could develop.
References
- Bernal, I. (1969). The Olmec World. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Drucker, P. (1981). On The Nature of Olmec Polity. In The Olmec & Their Neighbors: Essays in Memory of Matthew W. Stirling (Pages 29-48). Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections.
- Hirth, K.G. (1978). Interregional Trade and the Formation of Prehistoric Gateway Communities. American Antiquity , 35-45.
- Minster, C. (March 6, 2017). ThoughtCo . Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com
- . Olmec Archeology and Early Mesoamerica. Cambridge University Press.
- Vanderwarker, A.M. (2006). Farming, Hunting, and Fishing in the Olmec World. Austin: University of Texas Press.