The Oxford Handbook of the Olmecs provides an up-to-date overview of research on this most elaborate of Mesoamerica's foundational cultures (ca. 1450-400 BCE). In 50 original chapters, it presents articles that discuss the theoretical and social significance of Olmec research, as well as empirical summaries of recent archaeological, art-historical, archaeometric, and environmental research. It also presents topical perspectives on Olmec economy, society, polity, and belief, in addition to forward-looking articles that reconsider the place of the Olmecs in Mesoamerican studies and anthropological archaeology.
The Oxford Handbook of the Olmecs provides an up-to-date overview of research on this most elaborate of Mesoamerica's foundational cultures (ca. 1450-400 BCE). Few objects of study have sparked more debate in Mesoamerican studies than the role of Olmec culture in the origins of that region's civilizations, with some seeing it as the mother from which all significant cultural developments sprang and others as one of several "sister cultures," each contributing substantially to the emergence of civilization. While acknowledging this debate, this volume moves beyond it with framing articles that discuss the theoretical and social significance of Olmec research, as well as empirical summaries of recent archaeological, art-historical, archaeometric, and environmental research. It also presents topical perspectives on Olmec economy, society, polity, and belief, in addition to forward-looking articles that review the current state and future directions of Olmec research.
Part I introduces the volume with articles on the history of Olmec studies, the theoretical importance of Olmec archaeology, and a review of longstanding debates over Olmec origins. Part II presents recent research on the ecology of the tropical lowland environment and regional settlement pattern studies, while Part III digs deeper into the archaeological record with summaries of recent excavations at key sites in Olman--the "Olmec heartland"-and beyond. Part IV looks beyond the Gulf Coast with up-to-date summaries of the Formative archaeological records in other parts of Mesoamerica, focusing on the local character and social context of participation in interregional networks. Together, Parts II, III, and IV lay the empirical basis for the topical essays that follow in Part V on Olmec subsistence, economy, society, governance, and artistic expression. The volume closes with three comparative articles that reconsider the place of the Olmecs in Mesoamerican studies and anthropological archaeology. The result is one of the most comprehensive and wide-ranging volumes on the Olmec in recent decades.
1. Introduction: Recent Trends in Olmec Studies Christopher A. Pool and
Carl J. Wendt Part I: Framing the Olmecs in History, Theory, and Heritage
2.
The History of Olmec Studies, 1862-2020: Confusion, Contention, and Consensus
Richard A. Diehl
3. The Olmecs and Archaeological Theory Rosemary A. Joyce
4. Olmec Origins: One by Land, Two by Sea Richard A. Diehl Part II:
Environment and Formative Settlement Patterns in Olman
5. Overview:
Environment, Polity, and Regional Variation in Olmec Settlement Christopher
A. Pool
6. Formative Settlement in the San Lorenzo Region: Roberto Lunagómez Reyes
7.
Preclassic Settlement in the La Venta Region William F. Rust
8. The Eastern Olmec: Refining Regional Cultural and Landscape Chronologies
During the Epoch of the Hallstatt Plateau Christopher L. von Nagy
9. Formative Settlement in the San Juan Drainage and Tuxtlas Piedmont
Hirokazu Kotegawa
10. Formative Settlement in the Tuxtla Mountains Lourdes Budar and Philip J.
Arnold, III
11. Formative Settlement on the Western Margin of Olman Michael
L. Loughlin and Christopher A. Pool Part III: Site-Level Explorations
12. San
Andrés and the Archaic Antecedents of Olmec Culture Mary DeLand Pohl, David
L. Lentz, Christopher L. von Nagy, Dolores R. Piperno, Lisa Duff, and Kevin
O. Pope.
13. Pre-Olmec and Olmec Rituals and Settlements of the Lower
Coatzacoalcos River Basin, Veracruz Maria del Carmen Rodríguez, Ponciano
Ortiz Ceballos, and Alberto Ortiz Brito
14. San Lorenzo: The First Olmec
Center Carl J. Wendt
15. The Cantón Corralito Colony: Two Centuries of Gulf Olmecs Abroad David
Cheetham
16. Discovering La Venta: A Century of Research Rebecca González Lauck
17. Arroyo Pesquero: A Middle Formative Olmec Ritual Cache Carl J. Wendt
18. Olmec Horizons at Chiapa de Corzo Bruce R. Bachand
19. Quiotepec-Oxtotitlan: Olmec in Guerrero? When?
Paul Schmidt, Christopher L. von Nagy, Mary DeLand Pohl, and Eliseo F.
Padilla Gutiérrez
20. La Joya, Veracruz: Lessons from an "Alternative Olmec" Philip J. Arnold,
III
21. Tres Zapotes: A Resilient Center in Western Olman Christopher A. Pool
Part IV: Regional Perspectives from Beyond Olman
22. Early and Middle
Formative Interactions and Central Mexico Wesley D. Stoner and Deborah L.
Nichols
23. The Olmec Phenomenon in Morelos Mario Córdoba Tello, Jaime F.
Reséndiz Machón, and Giselle Canto Aguilar
24. The Mixteca Alta Andrew Balkansky and María T. Palomares Rodríguez
25. What is Olmec in Guerrero? Gerardo Gutiérrez and Mary E. Pye
26. The Valley of Oaxaca and the Southern Isthmus Marcus Winter
27. Early and Middle Formative Settlement and Society in the Chiapas Central
Depression Timothy D. Sullivan
28. Olmecs in Soconusco John E. Clark
29. Pacific Coast of Guatemala Michael Love and Julia Guernsey
30. The Olmec and the Origins of Maya Civilization George J. Bey, III
31. Central America Rosemary A. Joyce and John S. Henderson Part V:
Perspectives on Olmec Economy, Society, and Ritual Section I: Living and
Making
32. The Olmec Diet Amber M. VanDerwarker and Tanya M. Perez
35. Of Cabbages and Kings: Gulf Olmec Subsistence Strategies Philip J.
Arnold, III and Thomas W. Killion
34. Ceramic Crafting: Early Olmec Style Pottery Jeffrey P. Blomster, David
Cheetham, and Christopher A. Pool
35. Chipped Stone Procurement, Technology, and Use Charles L.F. Knight
36. Ground Stone Manufacture and Lapidary Carving Olaf Jaime-Riverón (DR)
37. Bitumen Procurement, Processing, and Use Carl J. Wendt Section 2:
Meaning, Expression, and Ritual
38. Mortuary Practices during the Preclassic
Period Vera Tiesler and Mónica Rodríguez Pérez
39. Monumental Sculpture Jill Mollenhauer
40. The Human Form in Portable Art:
Figurines, Masks, and Busts Christopher A. Pool
41. Iconography and Religion Karl A. Taube
42. The Case for Olmec Writing Stephen D. Houston
43. Sacred Landscape: Architecture, Cosmology, Ritual Carolyn E. Tate Section
3: Organization, Interaction, and Power
44. Rural Residences in the San
Lorenzo Hinterland Robert Kruger and Carl J. Wendt
45. Sex and Gender in Olmec Imagery Billie Follensbee
46. Olmec Exchange Networks Hector Neff. Jeffrey P. Blomster, and Michael
Glascock, and Wesley D. Stoner
47. Olmec Political Economies John E. Clark Part VI: Reconsidering the Olmecs
for the Future
48. A View from Olman: Where Do We Go from Here? Carl J.
Wendt
49. Some Anthropological Questions for the Future of Olmec Archaeology Robert
Rosenswig
50. The Olmecs in Global Context Robert C. Drennan, C. Adam Berrey, and
Christian E. Peterson
Christopher A. Pool is University Research Professor in Anthropology at the University of Kentucky. His previous books include Olmec Archaeology and Early Mesoamerica, The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology (co-edited with Deborah L. Nichols), and Settlement Archaeology and Political Economy at Tres Zapotes Veracruz.
Carl J. Wendt is Professor of Anthropology in the Division of Anthropology at California State University, Fullerton.
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