Olmec and Zapotec

The Olmec people had the first large civilization in the Americas. They lived in Mesoamerica from 1500 to 1200 BC. Mesoamerica is now Mexico and Central America.

Olmecs lived in villages. They grew corn, beans, squash, sweet potatoes, and sunflowers to eat. They also ate fish, turtles and snakes from the nearby rivers.

The Olmec hunted birds, wild pigs, opossum, raccoons, rabbit, and deer. Dog was their main meat.

Olmecs built temples and pyramids. They made statues of huge heads that are taller than a person. They used a number system, a caldendar, and had a writing system.

The Zapotec people made an empire in what is now southern Mexico from about 1500 BC to 1500 AD. They had a hieroglyphic writing system. They guilt large stone temples and ball courts.

People lived in stone houses. They tried to get along with other empires. However, the Zapotecs and the nearby Aztecs fought many wars. When the Spanish came to the Americas, they took over the Zapotecs.