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History of words rewritten By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 06/12/2002) Symbols carved on to a recently discovered seal and plaque represent the earliest evidence of writing in the New World, a find that challenges previous ideas about who invented writing in the Americas. The artefacts, described today in the journal Science, strengthen the idea of the ancient Olmecs being the "mother culture" of the Maya and Aztecs in Central America. The Olmecs of the Gulf Coast region of Mexico were the first to develop urban ritual and political centres and now it seems that they were the first to...

A slab inscribed with the oldest writing yet discovered in the New World has been discovered in the Veracruz lowlands in Mexico. The writing dates back nearly 3000 years to the height of the Olmec culture that was the first Mesoamerican civilisation, Mexican archaeologists report. Called the Cascajal slab, it had been rescued along with other artefacts from a quarry at Lomas de Tacamichapa, in 1999, where it had been destined for use in road fill. Isolated symbols have been found on a few Olmec artefacts, but the slab is the first solid evidence of a true written language, says...

After discovering a 2,700 year old tomb, probably the earliest in Mesoamerica, the team of specialists of the Chiapa de Corzo Archaeological Project discovered another multiple burial that probably dates from 500 BC, which was accompanied by an offering where a necklace with an Olmeca-style pendant stands out. Also found at Mound 11 of Chiapa de Corzo Archaeological Zone, this second discovery consists in 2 osseous remains of male adults, located in a corner of the excavation area of the hill... The general characteristics of the multiple burial and its offering, as pointed out by the experts, confirms the early...

WRITING is one of the greatest inventions in human history. Perhaps the greatest, since it made history possible. Without writing, there could be no accumulation of knowledge, no historical record, no science - and of course no books, newspapers or internet.The first true writing we know of is Sumerian cuneiform - consisting mainly of wedge-shaped impressions on clay tablets - which was used more than 5000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Soon afterwards writing appeared in Egypt, and much later in Europe, China and Central America. Civilisations have invented hundreds of different writing systems. Some, such as the one you are...

Science magazine this week details the discovery of a stone block in Veracruz, Mexico, that contains a previously unknown system of writing; believed by archeologists to be the earliest in the Americas. The slab - named the Cascajal block - dates to the early first millennium BCE and has features that indicate it comes from the Olmec civilization of Mesoamerica. One of the archaeologists behind the discovery, Brown University's Stephen D. Houston, said that the block and its ancient script "link the Olmec civilization to literacy, document an unsuspected writing system, and reveal a new complexity to this civilization." "It's...

Beyond the Family Feud Volume 60 Number 2, March/April 2007 by Andrew Lawler After decades of debate, are younger scholars finally asking the right questions about the Olmec? The lush, wet environment of the Laguna de los Cerros site, aerial view above left, typifies the Olmec heartland between the later Aztec (Tenochtitlán) and Maya (Palenque) regions. (Ken Garrett) It's a drizzly autumn morning in the eastern Mexican city of Xalapa, near the heartland of what many scholars say was Mesoamerica's first civilization. At the city's elegant anthropology museum, amid one of the finest Olmec collections in the world, Yale archaeologist...

Archeologists discover ancient Olmec-influenced city near Mexico City By Mark Stevenson ASSOCIATED PRESS 12:16 a.m. January 25, 2007 MEXICO CITY – A 2,500-year-old city influenced by the Olmecs – often referred to as the “mother culture” of Mesoamerica – has been discovered hundreds of miles away from the Olmecs' Gulf coast territory, archaeologists said. The remains of Zazacatla are providing insight into the early arrival of advanced civilizations in central Mexico, while also providing lessons about the risks to ruins posed by modern development that now cover much of the ancient city. Archaeologist Giselle Canto said Wednesday that two statues...

Ancient civilisations in Mexico developed a writing system as early as 2,000 years ago, new evidence suggests. The discovery in the state of Veracruz of a block inscribed with symbolic shapes has astounded anthropologists. Researchers tell Science magazine that they consider it to be the oldest example of writing in the New World. The inscriptions are thought to have been made by the Olmecs, an ancient pre-Columbian people known for creating large statues of heads. The finding suggests that New World people developed writing some 400 years before their contemporaries in the Western hemisphere. ...... "I think it could...

New analysis of pottery stirs Olmec trade controversy Clearing -- or perhaps roiling -- the murky and often contentious waters of Mesoamerican archeology, a study of 3,000-year-old pottery provides new evidence that the Olmec may not have been the mother culture after all. Writing this week (Aug. 1, 2005) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a team of scientists led by University of Wisconsin-Madison archeologist James B. Stoltman presents new evidence that shows the Olmec, widely regarded as the creators of the first civilization in Mesoamerica, imported pottery from other nearby cultures. The finding undermines the...

A mysterious ancient stone mask from Mexico has spoken but apparently only to say that its people's written language remains undeciphered. BYU's Stephen Houston holds a copy of ancient script from Mexico. He disagrees with claims that "Teo Mask" words have been deciphered.Stuart Johnson, Deseret Morning News A study by Brigham Young University archaeologist Stephen Houston and his colleague from Yale University, Michael D. Coe, say the mask disproves earlier claims that the language had been cracked. Their paper is to be published in "Mexicon," a journal about news and research from Mesoamerica. The title is "Has Isthmian Writing Been...

Ancient Bones Found in Honduras Said to Be Olmec TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (Reuters) - Human bones believed to date from the ancient Olmec civilization have been found in southeastern Honduras, suggesting the influential culture extended farther than previously thought, Honduran authorities said on Tuesday. Missed Tech Tuesday? Here's the real reasons you need speed, plus better broadband tips and making do with dial-up. Carmen Fajardo, at the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History, said it appeared to be the first time Olmec remains have been found outside the so-called Mesoamerican corridor that stretches from Mexico to central Honduras. "For the first...