Who were the Olmecs?

We are doing a short study on the Olmec people who built one of the earliest civilizations in the Americas. They lived along Mexico's east coast as early as 1500 B.C. They are often referred to as the "mother civilization" of the Americas, because so many other groups learned from their culture. They built temples on the tops of thier flat-topped pyramids. The people lived in villages and built huge stone carved faces, some as large as 20 tons, looked out over these villages.

Here is an article on the National Geographic for kids website that shows the discovery of 3000 year old Olmec writing. Can you figure out what it says?



"An ancient culture is getting new attention. Featured in the new National Treasure 2 movie, who were the so-called Olmec Indians of ancient Mexico? A very mysterious and advanced civilization, many believe that the Mayan calendar is really Olmec in origin. From pyramids to written language to sophisticated social structure and even ball games, the Olmecs were the mother culture of the Americas."