现在位于墨西哥中部偏南的热带低地的韦拉克鲁斯和塔巴斯科，曾是哥伦布发现美洲大陆以前的一个文明社会所在地，这里有著名的“巨石头像”、人祭行为，创造了零的概念，是随后出现的所有中美洲文明的基础。奥尔梅克文明出现在大约公元前1500年，直到19世纪中期才被历史学家发现。它的没落与火山爆发、地震或者农业体系受到破坏引起的环境变化有关。
1. Olmec：The history and culture of the first major civilization in Mexico
The Olmec is the first major civilization in Mexico. The Olmecs lived in the tropical lowlands of southcentral Mexico， in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco.
奥尔梅克：墨西哥地区第一大文明的历史和文化
奥尔梅克文明是墨西哥地区第一大文明。奥尔梅克人生活在墨西哥中南部的热带低地，即如今的韦拉克鲁斯州和塔瓦斯科州。
Historical origin：The“Olmec heartland”
The Olmec flourished during Mesoamerica’s Formative period， dating roughly from as early as 1500 BC to about 400 BC. Pre-Olmec cultures had flourished in the area since about 2500 BC， but by 1600-1500 BC Early Olmec culture had emerged centered around the San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan site near the coast in southeast Veracruz. They were the first Mesoamerican civilization and laid many of the foundations for the civilizations that followed. Among other “firsts”， the Olmec appeared to practice ritual bloodletting and played the Mesoamerican ballgame， hallmarks of nearly all subsequent Mesoamerican societies.
The “Olmec heartland” is an archaeological term used to describe an area in the Gulf lowlands that is generally considered the birthplace of the Olmec culture. This area is characterized by swampy lowlands punctuated by low hills， ridges， and volcanoes. The Tuxtlas Mountains rise sharply in the north， along the Gulf of Mexico’s Bay of Campeche. Here the Olmec constructed permanent city-temple complexes at San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan， La Venta， Tres Zapotes， and so on. In this region， the first Mesoamerican civilization emerged and reigned from c. 1400–400 BC.
The beginnings of Olmec civilization have traditionally been placed between 1400 and 1200 BC. Recent finds of Olmec remains ritually deposited at El Manati shrine （near San Lorenzo） moved this back to "at least" 1600-1500 BC. It seems that the Olmec had their roots in early farming cultures of Tabasco， which began between 5100 BC and 4600 BC. These shared the same basic food crops and technologies of the later Olmec civilization.
历史起源：“奥尔梅克心脏地带”
奥尔梅克文化在中美洲形成时期蓬勃发展，起源时间大致追溯到公元前1500年至公元前400年。前奥尔梅克文化时期从公元前2500年就在此兴盛，但在公元前1600年至公元前1500年期间，早期奥尔梅克文化都集中在韦拉克鲁斯州东南部海岸线附近的圣洛伦佐特诺奇蒂特兰城。奥尔梅克文化是第一大中美洲文明，奠定了以后许多文明的基础。在那些“第一”当中，奥尔梅克第一次出现放血仪式和中美洲蹴球活动，它们几乎是后来的中美洲社会的全部印记。
“奥尔梅克心脏地带”是一个用来描述波斯湾低地中一个地区的考古术语，人们普遍认为这里是奥尔梅克文化的发源地。这个地区的特点是低山、山脊和火山间隔成沼泽低地，使得墨西哥湾坎佩切湾沿线的杜克斯拉斯山脉在北边急剧上升。奥尔梅克在圣洛伦佐特诺奇蒂特兰城、拉文塔、特雷斯萨波特斯等地区建造了永久的城市庙宇，公元前1400年至公元前400年间，中美洲第一大文明在此出现并达到极盛。
从传统意义上说，奥尔梅克文明的起源要追溯到公元前1400年至公元前1200年期间，最近发现的被仪式性地放置在马纳蒂神社（圣洛伦佐附近）的奥尔梅克遗迹将这一起源时间“起码”移回到公元前1600～前1500年。看来，奥尔梅克的起源出现在塔巴斯科州的早期农耕文化期间，也即始于公元前5100年，止于公元前4600年。这些是晚期奥尔梅克文明的粮食作物和技术的共同基础。
La Venta：The decline of San Lorenzo and therise of La Venta
The first Olmec center， San Lorenzo， was all but abandoned around 900 BC at about the same time that La Venta rose to prominence. A wholesale destruction of many San Lorenzo monuments also occurred circa 950 BC， which may indicate an internal uprising or，
less likely， an invasion. The latest thinking， however， is that environmental changes may have been responsible for this shift in Olmec centers， with certain important rivers changing course.
In any case， following the decline of San Lorenzo， La Venta became the most prominent Olmec center， lasting from 900 BC until its abandonment around 400 BC. La Venta sustained the Olmec cultural traditions， but with spectacular displays of power and wealth. The Great Pyramid was the largest Mesoamerican structure of its time. Even today， after 2500 years of erosion， it rises 34 metres （112 ft） above the naturally flat landscape.
拉文塔：圣洛伦佐的衰落，拉文塔的崛起
公元前900年，第一个奥尔梅克文化中心圣洛伦佐几乎被夷为平地，大约在同一时间，拉文塔却迅速崛起。大约在公元前950年，很多圣洛伦佐纪念碑遭到了大规模毁灭，这种迹象预示着可能有内部起义，而不太可能是外部入侵。然而，最新的观点显示，奥尔梅克文化中心的环境变化可能是这种变迁的原因所在，当时某些重要河流现在都已经改道了。
无论如何，随着圣洛伦佐的衰落，拉文塔变成了最杰出的奥尔梅克文化中心，其统治时间从公元前900年开始到公元前400年结束。拉文塔维持了奥尔梅克文化的传统，只是还伴随着权力和财富的壮观景象。大金字塔是当时中美洲最大的建筑。即使在今天，经过2500年的侵蚀它还高于自然平坦地貌34米（112英尺）。
Decline：The uncertain mystery
Scholars have not determined the cause of the eventual extinction of the Olmec culture. Between 400 and 350 BC， the population in the eastern half of the Olmec heartland dropped precipitously， and the area was sparsely inhabited.This depopulation was likely the result of "very serious environmental changes that rendered the region unsuited for large groups of farmers"， in particular changes to the riverine environment that the Olmec depended upon for agriculture， hunting and gathering， and transportation. Archaeologists propose that these changes were triggered by tectonic upheavals or subsidence， or the silting up of rivers due to agricultural practices.
One theory for the considerable population drop during the Terminal Formative period is suggested by Santley and colleagues who propose shifts in settlement location due to volcanism instead of extinction. Volcanic eruptions during the Early， Late and Terminal Formative periods would have blanketed the lands and forced the Olmec to move their settlements.
Whatever the cause， within a few hundred years of the abandonment of the last Olmec cities， successor cultures became firmly established.
衰落：没有定论的灭绝之谜
学者们对于奥尔梅克文化灭绝的原因，还没有定论。从公元前400年开始到公元前350年为止，奥尔梅克文化中心地带东半部的人口急剧下降，该地区变得人烟稀少。这可能是由于“非常严重的环境变化，使地区不适合大群体的农民生存”，特别是河流环境的变化，而那恰是奥尔梅克农业、狩猎、采集和运输的决定性因素。考古学家认为，这些变化是由动乱、构造沉降或者农业活动导致的河流淤塞而引发的。
桑特利和他的同事们提出的有关终端形成时期人口急剧下降的一种理论认为，这个地方的变迁原因应该归结于火山活动而非灭绝。早期、晚期、终端形成时期的火山喷发覆盖了这些土地，迫使奥尔梅克人迁徙他处。
不管什么原因，在奥尔梅克文化城市的几百年的废弃历史中，牢固地确立了继承性文化。