Download Olmec Study Guide

Olmec Study Guide
The Olmec lived in Mexico more than 2,000 years ago.
The Aztecs gave the tribe the name Olmec. It meant
“rubber people” because the Olmec were the first
people to tap rubber trees for the sap.
The Olmec figured out the idea of zero.
The Olmec were known for carving colossal heads
weighing over 20 tons.
Pok-a-tok was an early version of basketball.
The Olmec were Astrologers and studied the orbits of
planets and predicted eclipses.
The Olmec built volcanic shaped structures with
temples on top. The structures were like the Egyptian
pyramids even though they did not know the Egyptians
existed.
The Olmec tribe disappeared in the 1st century BC.
Nobody knows why.
The Olmec were like parents of the other cultures of
the Americas. They influenced the Maya and Aztec
cultures.
In complete sentences you must be able to explain at
least two ways we have been influenced by the
Olmec?
Possible answers.
1. We use rubber in many daily items such as shoes,
sports equipment, tires, etc.
2. Sporting games, such as soccer and basketball
evolved from the game pok-a-tok.
3. We use the idea of zero in math and daily activities
such as lunch accounts, buying items, telling time, etc.