Regular marked price: $22.50Discount Price: $15.30
Cost Savings: $7.20 (32%)Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 930
EAN num: 9780500285039
ISBN number: 0500285039
Label: Thames & Hudson
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 208
Printing Date: November 01, 2005
Publishing house: Thames & Hudson
Sale Popularity Level: 266447
Studio: Thames & Hudson
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
'The very first truly complete and authoritative account of this 3,000-year-old culture.'—Michael D. Coe
The Olmecs of southern Mexico are America's oldest civilization and Mesoamerica's 'Mother Culture.' Famous for their Colossal Heads carved from giant boulders, the Olmecs have fascinated the public and archaeologists since the 1940s when National Geographic magazine reported the initial explorations of their centers. Despite well-publicized discoveries of spectacular basalt sculptures, portable jade objects, and richly decorated pottery vessels, until recently almost nothing was known about Olmec history, foreign contacts, and daily life. Now archaeologists have recovered information that allows them to assemble a remarkably broad picture of Olmec culture, its accomplishments, and its impact on later Mexican civilizations.
The Olmecs presents the very first modern overview of information from recent archaeological field projects and studies of Olmec art. In addition to detailed coverage of Olmec life, culture, and art, it examines the Olmec presence in the surrounding areas of Mexico and their role in the formation of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilization. Profusely illustrated, it will become the standard work on this enigmatic culture. 152 illustrations, 20 in color.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
The book is
1st: absolutely poor in the photographs and hand made drawings
2nd: all themes about controverse objects and artifacts are omitted with high accuracy
3rd: the situation he described is true for Mexico of the 1940ies, not of yesterday (treasure hunters damage most of the areas - he should visit it today, please!and learn about mexican law concerning this subject)
4th: he is not able to discuss the problem that on olmec reliefs clearly negroid people and semitic people are portrayed-indians in this regions looks not like the the portraits of olmec heads
5th: he forgot the archaeological artifacts of Monte alban
Conclusion: If this is an high graduated professor of an university, something of the knowledge and thinking of this people most me out of time. Or, what is the reason for a professor to speak about were-Jaguars-is he consuming were-wolf-films?
PS: I know all olmec places very well and think, i know what I' m speaking about!
Rated by buyers 
-
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1990VDV3AWT5X Richard A. Diehl provides a well written and informative account of the Olmecs. It is richly illustrated and written in clear and concise language. The book is easy to read.
The book makes it clear that the Olmec civilization is diverse and widespread. It provides an abundance of information that support the view that the Olmec civilization is the "Mother Culture" of Mexico.It gives a detailed account of Olmec civilization in the heartland and the expansion of Olmec influence into Basin of Mexico,Chiapas, Oaxaca, Gurero, the highlands of Mexico and Central America.
There are a couple of problems with the book. For example,on pg 13, Dr. Diehl claims that we don't have any surviving Olmec skeletons. Granted they are not found in Olman but Dr. Wiercinski did examine Olmec skeletons from Tlatilco that indicate that in the late period of Olmec history the civilization was made up of people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.
The book engages the reader in a discovery of an ancient time when great men and women set out to develop a new civilization and open up new lands for settlement. It is a good summary of the research concerning the Olmec up to now. It will serve as popular introduction to Olmec civilization for years to come.
This film provides a discusion of the Olmec writing system. Whereas Prof. Diehl thinks that the idea that Olmec art and culture can not be attributed to seafaring Africans, this film shows how the Olmec spoke a Mande language and that the writing of the Olmec can be read using the Vai script. It explains the decipherment of the Olmec writing and how it provides keen insight into Olmec civilization and its royals. Olmec Writing provides a detailed discusion of the Olmec writing only hinted at by Richard A. Diehl.
Rated by buyers 
-
The photography and graphics in this book are the poorest I have seen in a very long time in books of similar interest. This is a shame as image clarity is extremely important to understanding the culture and especially the art of the Olmec. That is the only thing that we have left of the Olmecs.
Rated by buyers 
-
This is an easy-to-read, though technical book. It presents the current state of knowledge of the earliest civilization in Mesoamerica, and the origin of much of what appears in Maya culture later on (calendar, writing, etc.). I am very thankful that the author gives the English measurement equivalents to the metric system, for many of us do not use the metric system and are totally lost when reading about hectares, meters, etc. I recommend this book to anyone interested in New World archaeology and the origins of complex societies.
Rated by buyers -
In The Olmecs (2004), Richard Diehl presents a comprehensive summary of the current state of knowledge of America's very first civilization. The volume covers Olmec history, daily life and culture, art, and the impact of the Olmec beyond their realm. Much of this information was previously available in scholarly journals only. Many fine illustrations (some in color) fill this book. Throughout the book the author shows how ideas about Olmec history and culture have changed as new information has become available. His enthusiasm for his subject is evident. In the final chapter on Epi-Olmec culture, the author observes "the piedmont and plain between the Tuxtla mountains and the town of Alvarado contain many large unexplored ancient centers." Clearly much more can still be learned about the Olmec, and opportunities exist for enterprising students.
Find other books like this one:
