The Olmecs: Mesoamerica’s Mysterious First Civilization

De: Edwin Barnhart, The Great Courses

Narrado por: Edwin Barnhart

Deep in the swampy heart of ancient Mexico, the Olmecs built a grand and influential civilization between 1800 and 400 BCE. The archaeological remains raise more questions than answers about the origins and legacy of this captivating Mesoamerican culture. How did the Olmecs carve and carry their famous colossal heads? Why did they live in flood-prone wetlands when better agricultural land was available? What are the secrets of their written language, and how can we unlock them?

Tackle these questions and more in The Olmecs: Mesoamerica’s Mysterious First Civilization. Taught by Dr. Edwin Barnhart, a seasoned archaeologist and director of the Maya Exploration Center, these 12 eye-opening lectures take you on a journey into the past to explore these fascinating people. From the bustling platforms of San Lorenzo to the ritual-rich pyramids of La Venta, you’ll discover how the Olmecs shaped and were shaped by trade, religion, and ideology.

Perhaps the defining image of the Olmecs is the colossal heads, which are now icons in museums and pop culture. In addition to the logistical puzzle of building and moving these heads, Dr. Barnhart digs into their significance for understanding Olmec art and religion. He also brings in lesser-known Olmec artifacts for study, including evocative jade figurines and delicately made ceramics.

Armed with the latest research, you’ll go inside the debates over this powerful civilization’s lasting legacy. For example, the Olmecs have long been considered the “Mother Culture” of Mesoamerican civilizations—meaning that other cultures were descendants of the Olmecs. However, the story of ancient Mesoamerica is a much more complex tale of coevolution with neighbors like the Oaxaca and, later, the Maya.

Additionally, new technology such as LiDAR—“Light Detecting and Ranging,” a laser-based research tool—has reshaped our understanding of who the Olmecs are and how they lived. As you will see, the Olmecs kept their secrets well—but their story continues to evolve as part of our shared human heritage.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

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We Don't Know

This is an interesting listen that does meander here and there. It covers a variety of subjects but the end result of each is, "we don't know". Should have called the lesson, Conjecture.

Outstanding Overview

I first discovered Dr Barnhart’s lectures concerning the Maya, Inca and Aztec civilizations. They are exceptional and also available on Audible through the Great Courses series. This latest offering, covering the older, foundational culture of the Olmecs is equally superb. Dr Barnhart has traveled extensively in the region. He’s been involved in important archeology throughout Meso-America and knows his material, along with competing theories, from front to back. It’s particularly refreshing to hear his “takes” on various theories, never denigrating them, but giving the listener his own point of view and explanation of how he reached his own conclusions. In my opinion, these are some of the best offerings from the Great Courses. Bravo Dr Ed!

The GOAT Returns

I've listened to Ed's Maya to Aztec Great Courses, the South America lectures, North America lectures many times (I even started listening to his podcast a few months ago which is fun). Of all of them the Maya to Aztec lectures are still my favorite. So how do the Olmec lectures hold up? "Well? we still don't know" just kidding they're amazing. If you liked the previous ones I mentioned you'll love this one too. I will say 'watching' is better than just viewing. With this one I watched all of it after as well and it was a better experience than just listening alone especially when he starts talking about math and so forth it's much easier to visualize.

As I joked earlier and others have said in reviews "we still don't know" is mentioned a lot more in this one because the Olmecs are still elusive in a lot of ways compared to the better known Maya, Aztecs, Inca, etc. But I can confidently say I learned things about the Olmec I didn't know before this lecture and hadn't heard him say in previous snips about the Olmecs in other lectures. The far flung connections of the Western Olmec and Eastern Olmec was fascinating and now I want someone to decipher Isthmian Script and go explore all 400 of the new Lidar Olmec sites so we can know even more about the Olmecs.

If you can view the video do that but if you can only listen I strongly urge you to listen to this.
Now I'll anxiously wait for "Mesoamerica's Enigmatic Zapotecs", "Mixing With the Mixtecs" and "Chill Times at Teotihuacan High" lectures.

Down to Earth

I stumbled across this lecture series while looking for a basic audio book on the Olmec and holy cow! What a discovery. By far the best part of Dr. Barnhart's lectures is his easy to understand, down to earth style and delivery. There's a lot of information here but he delivers it in such a way as to be faithful to the academic rigor of archaeology and history while still appealing to the dignity of a lay archaeologist such as myself. If you want to know more on this subject, these lectures are an excellent starting point.