The 2002 find at the San Andres site shows a bird， speech scrolls， and glyphs that are similar to the later Mayan hieroglyphs. Known as the Cascajal Block， and dated between 1100 BC and 900 BC； the 2006 find from a site near San Lorenzo shows a set of 62 symbols， 28 of which are unique， carved on a serpentine block. A large number of prominent archaeologists have hailed this find as the "earliest pre-Columbian writing". Others are skeptical because of the stone’s singularity， the fact that it had been removed from any archaeological context， and because it bears no apparent resemblance to any other Mesoamerican writing system.
There are also well-documented later hieroglyphs known as "EpiOlmec"， and while there are some who believe that Epi-Olmec may represent a transitional between an earlier Olmec writing system and Mayan writing， the matter remains unsettled.
书写系统：“后奥尔梅克”象形文字
奥尔梅克文明可能是西半球的第一个发展书写系统的文明。2002年和2006年发现的文字符号分别要追溯到公元前650年和公元前900年，那是公元前500年左右出现的最古老的萨波特克写作系统。
2002年发现的圣安德烈遗址展示的是一只鸟、语音卷轴以及类似于后来的玛雅象形文字的铭文。它被称为公元前1100年和公元前900年间的卡斯卡哈块。2006年发现的圣洛伦佐遗迹展示的是一组62个符号，其中28个符号很独特，它们被刻在一个块蛇纹石上。一大批著名的考古学家称这一发现为“最早的前哥伦布书写系统”，其他考古学家则怀疑。因为石头的奇异性，事实上它已远离任何考古文献，也因为它与任何其他中美洲书写系统没有明显的相似之处。
也有史料记载，后来的象形文字被称为“后奥尔梅克文字”，虽然有人认为后奥尔梅克可能代表早期奥尔梅克文字系统和玛雅文字之间的一个过渡性脚本，但这个问题至今仍然悬而未决。
Mesoamerican Long Count calendar and the invention of theconcept of zero
The Long Count calendar used by many subsequent Mesoamerican civilizations， as well as the concept of zero， may have been devised by the Olmecs. In the modern archaeology，the six artifacts with the earliest Long Count calendar dates were all discovered outside the immediate Maya homeland， it is likely that this calendar predated the Maya and was possibly the invention of the Olmecs. Indeed， three of these six artifacts were found within the Olmec heartland. But an argument against an Olmec origin is the fact that the Olmec civilization had ended by the 4th century BC， several centuries before the earliest known Long Count date artifact.
The Long Count calendar required the use of zero as a place-holder within its vigesimal positional numeral system. A shell glyph–was used as a zero symbol for these Long Count dates. This is one of the earliest uses of the zero concept in history.
中美洲长期历和零概念的发明
中美洲的长期历被广泛适用于随后的中美洲文明当中，零概念的应用也是如此，它们可能是奥尔梅克人发明的。现代考古中，有6件标有长期历日期的文物是在最接近玛雅人家园的外部发现的，很可能这种日历先于玛雅日历，它们或许是奥尔梅克人发明的。事实上，这6件文物当中有3件是在奥尔梅克文化中心地带发现的，但有关奥尔梅克起源颇有争议，因为奥尔梅克文明早已在公元前4世纪就结束了，其先于最早的长期历好几个世纪。
长期历在其数字系统中需要使用零来当占位符。在这些长期历中，壳体字形被用作零的符号，这是历史上最早使用的零概念。
Religion and mythology：The immortalportable art and Mesoamerican mythologies
Olmec religious activities were performed by a combination of rulers， full-time priests， and shamans. The rulers seem to have been the most important religious figures， with their links to the Olmec deities or supernaturals providing legitimacy for their rule. There is also considerable evidence for shamans in the Olmec archaeological record.
As Olmec mythology has left no documents comparable to the Popul Vuh from Maya mythology， any exposition of Olmec mythology must be based on interpretations of surviving monumental and portable art and comparisons with other Mesoamerican mythologies. Olmec art shows that such deities as the Feathered Serpent and a rain supernatural were already in the Mesoamerican pantheon in Olmec times.
宗教与神话：不朽的便携式艺术与中美洲神话
奥尔梅克宗教活动是由统治者、专职祭司和萨满教巫医共同举办的，统治者似乎是最重要的宗教人物，因为他们链接了为他们的统治提供合法性服务的奥尔梅克神灵或超自然现象。在奥尔梅克文化考古文献中，也有相当多的有关巫师的记载。
相比较而言，由于奥尔梅克神话没有像玛雅神话的演说那样留下只言片语，所以奥尔梅克神话的阐述必须以幸存的、不朽的便携式艺术以及其他中美洲神话的模板为基础。奥尔梅克艺术表明，这些神灵，如羽蛇神和超自然的雨，都已出现在奥尔梅克时代中美洲的万神殿之中。