The Olmecs: Land vs. Architecture

    While studying the Olmec people, the earliest known Mesoamerican civilization, we come to find out how little we know about this ancient civilization. In the video entitled Lost Kingdoms of Central America and the article entitled "La Venta" from Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia, by Rebecca Gonzalez Lauck, we see how both of these give us information about the Olmecs, one focusing on their environment and the other focusing on the architecture of La Venta, an ancient settlement and now an archaeological site. The video goes into detail about how the Olmecs survived in the environment they did and how they believed in and worshipped supernatural beings. While the video summarizes a little bit about everything of the Olmec people, the article merely focuses on the findings of La Venta. Lauck states, “One of the most remarkable offerings excavated in this precinct consisted of a group of sixteen figurines and reworked votive celts, carved in jade, serpentine, and sandstone” (Gonzalez Lauck 800). We see that the article talks about offerings that were found at the site. It focuses on what has been excavated at the archeological site and doesn’t mention the environment around it. Whereas the video states, “...these wooden representations of the Olmec weren’t for public display. Instead, they were deliberately thrown into the waters of a bog” (Lost 23:06-23:16). As the narrator goes on to show us wooden carved figurines, he tells us that they were thrown into the bog, the environment around them, as it then states, “They were cast in as an offering to the spirit world” (Lost 23:22-23:26). If we want more information on who the Olmecs were, we would go to the video. But, if we wanted information on how they built their settlement, La Venta, we would read the article. 

A King or Chief found at La Venta

    As we focus on the theme of religion between the video and the article, we find that these two sources are similar in stating what the Olmecs believed in, while also differing as one centers on the environment and the other on a settlement. Lauck again talks about what was found as they excavated La Venta as she states, “A third example is a group of six stela-like sculptures distributed along the southern base of the main pyramid. Four of these, carved in low relief, share the theme of representations of supernatural beings… These sculptures constitute one of the earliest examples in ancient Mexico of large-scale ideological communication through the interaction of architecture and sculpture” (Gonzalez Lauck 800). She shows us how the Olmecs made sculptures of the supernatural beings that they believed in. She also lets us know that these sculptures are examples of how the Olmecs communicated with the other world through these sculptures and the architecture of La Venta. While the article again centers on La Venta, the video shows us how the Olmecs created offerings with their environment to communicate with their supernatural beings. It states, “Rubber trees were found in the area where jaguars lived. Jaguars represented fertility and so the area was very important” (Lost 26:08-26:15). Jaguars were sacred to the Olmecs. So, finding rubber trees where jaguars lived, the Olmes believed that rubber was important to the jaguars. Rubber was then molded into a ball to give as an offering to the jaguars, one of the supernatural beings they believed in. We see that the article talks about how the Olmecs communicate through sculptures and architecture, whereas the video shows us how the Olmecs communicate through the environment around them.

A map of the Olmec heartlands

    As we come to a wrap on the video and the article, we see that these both give incredible information on the Olmec, even if they do focus on differing topics. In the article, Lauck tells us how important the excavation of the sculptures is as she states, “Based on the sculptural art, we can propose that the supernatural world played an important role among the ruling sector” (Gonzalez Lauck 800). Because of the sculptures and their showcasing of what the Olmecs thought to be important, we can get a better understanding of these ancient people and how they ruled based on what they believed in. In the lessons before this, I learned how important sculptures were to the Olmecs, as we learn the hard work it took to transfer huge stones of volcanic rock some 50 miles in order to carve a face into it. The video, differing from the article, shows us how important the land around the Olmecs was based on offerings found in the water as it states, “To the Olmec, bodies of water were entranceways to the underworld and to break its surface is to enter into another dimension” (Lost 24:01-24:08). The findings of offering in bogs and bodies of water showcase how large of a role the land around them played. And as we learned about the Olmecs again in earlier lessons, I also know how important water was to them. As they believed it to be a life-giving source. As the article mentions sculptural art, the video mentions the land around the Olmecs. Both on the subject of religion, but each one gives new and interesting information. For more information about the Olmec culture, I suggest watching this video:

Works Cited:

BBC.Lost.kingdoms.of.central.america.1of4 ... - Youtube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTuab0SNuPA.

Evans, Susan Toby, and David L. Webster. Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: an Encyclopedia. Taylor and Francis, 2013.

Photos and Video:

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-americas/a/the-olmec-article

“The Olmec | Ancient Civilizations (Article).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/world-history-beginnings/ancient-americas/a/the-olmec-article.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTqgksmmAuY 

The Olmecs (Olmec Culture of Ancient Mexico) - Youtube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTqgksmmAuY.

Missing 43

    Live on the radio every Sunday evening is the podcast called Latino USA. It aims to offer insights into Latino communities and how political and social ideas impact their lives and the nation. Not being able to attend the live podcast on Sunday, I went and listened to one of their earlier episodes called “After Ayotzinapa: The Missing 43.” It’s air date was January 28th, 2022, while I listened on February 4th, 2022. In Septmeber of 2014, the students of Ayotzinapa University were attacked and fired upon by Mexican police. These violent attacks occured because the students were “borrowing” buses in order to take students from nearby universities to a march in Mexico City that commemorates the 1968 student massacre. Because of them stealing buses, which occurs frequently by students in Mexico because there is not enough funding by the schools to transport them, the Mexican police got involved. But as the police opened fire without hesitation on the students, it was now a day turned into a crime scene. Three students died, and 43 were taken by the police, never to be seen or heard from again. And as we get the story from Omar, a 40-something human rights lawyer, we learn that there are multiple people coming in and trying to uncover what happened to these students, something that the police is unwilling to do. Why were the students taken and never found again? This is what they are currently trying to uncover. The community believes that Mexican officials are the reason why so many people have gone missing over the years, as the uncovering of multiple mass graves are found as volunteers try to look for the students. What happened in September of 2014 was one of the most horrific crimes of Mexico’s modern history (2:19 - 2:23). Even today, parents are trying to get justice for their missing kids, they are trying to find answers to the disappearance of 43 innocent students. 

Protest in April in Mexico City

    In the episode, I really liked how we got to listen to the parents and their struggles of dealing with loss. One mother states how she feels about the government and their involvement by stating that they simply do not care about these missing students (6:23 - 6:26). Succumbed by sadness, she tells us that every night she sleeps in her sons room to ease her loneliless. I believe it will be the parents who finally uncover what happened that day, as they are the ones, early on, who hired lawyers and an independent team of forensic scientists to come in and find their missing children. There isn’t anything that I didn’t like about this episode, only the story and how the Mexican police were able to get away with what they did. What is also unfortunate is that my class theme of religion does not relate to this story, but this episode is too important to ignore, the crimes that were committed on that day should be told again and again in order to find out what happened to those students. I also think it would have been interesting to get n interview with one of the policeman who knew what happened that day. It would be interesting to see if they acted strange or nervous. 

    In the news article “Remains of one of Mexico’s missing Ayotzinapa 43 students identified,” written by Rafael Azul and Don Knowland, published on July 25, 2020, we learn that one of the students remains were uncovered and taken in for a DNA sampling test. These remains belonged to Christian Adolfo Rodriguez Telumbre, which were found at Barranca Carnicería, a ravine in the town of Cocula, Guerrero. It is also stated in this article that the attack on the students in 2014 were not the only ones, as it says, “The Iguala events had not been the first attack on Ayotzinapa students. In May 2013, Guerrero state police assaulted Ayotzinapa students collecting funds for a festival. Twenty-six were arrested and severely beaten” (Remains 1). Among these were other attacks on the students by police. It is a pattern that keeps repeating itself and is destroying the communties around them. 

The Reveal Podcast Artwork

    In this episode of Latino USA, there was only grief and pain, and the realization that Mexico’s police is corrupt. The news article helped give justice to one family, however, as Christian’s parents now know the heartbreaking truth of what happened to their child. As this topic does not intertwine with my theme, I do not regret focusing on this at all. To be a student and know that this has happened in another country is horrific. It shines light on what the people in those communities have to deal with. It shows how the police will do anything to cover up their crimes and relations with gangs. While reading the rest of the article, the attorney gives one last staement on the disappearance of the 43 students. It states, “Vidulfo Rosales, attorney for the parents, insisted that in addition to catching all those responsible for the disappearance of the 43 students, all those who collaborated in hiding the truth must be held accountable” (Remains 1). I couldn’t agree more. Here is more insight into this topic from Youtube:

Works Cited

Azul, Rafael, and Don Knowland. “Remains of One of Mexico's Missing Ayotzinapa 43 Students                     Identified.” World Socialist Web Site, 25 July 2020, www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/07/25/mexi-                j25.html.

    “Latino USA.” CapRadio, www.capradio.org/news/latino-usa/.

Photos

Ahmed, Azam. “Disappearance of 43 Mexican Students Must Be Investigated Anew.” The New York             Times, The New York Times, 5 June 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/06/05/world/americas/mexico-43-        missing-students-investigation.html.

Anayansi Diaz-Cortes, Kate Doyle. “After Ayotzinapa Chapter 1: The Missing 43.” Reveal, 4 Feb. 2022,         revealnews.org/podcast/after-ayotzinapa-chapter-1-the-missing-43/.