Aztec and Maya civilizations are household names – but it’s the Olmecs who are the ‘mother culture’ of ancient Mesoamerica

Olmec culture deeply shaped later Mesoamerican civilizations like the Aztecs. Danny Lehman/The Image Bank via Getty Images – By Karl Taube, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside Published: 2023 Jun 07 – An extremely important 1-ton sculpture, sometimes referred to by …