| 释义 |
Olmec|ˈɒlmɛk|
[ad. Nahuatl Olmecatl, pl. Olmeca lit. ‘inhabitants of the rubber country’.]
1. Also Olmeca. A native American people or peoples inhabiting the coast of southern Veracruz and western Tabasco during the 15th and 16th centuries, to where they probably migrated during the 12th century from the Mexican altiplano.
1787C. Cullen tr. Clavigero's Hist. Mexico I. ii. 103 The Olmecas and the Xicallancas, whether one nation, or two distinct nations, but constantly allied and connected together, were so ancient in the country of Anahuac, that many authors account them prior to the Toltecas. 1883P. J. J. Valentini in Proc. Amer. Antiquarian Soc. II. 193 (heading) The Olmecas and the Tultecas: a study in early Mexican ethnology and history. 1914T. A. Joyce Mexican Archaeol. v. 125 Though bows were found among the Olmec and Huaxtec, they must have been of quite late introduction. 1931G. Mason Columbus came Late xi. 238 The Olmeca people that inhabited the damp country of southern Vera Cruz and western Tabasco. 1947M. Covarrubias Mexico South iv. 129 The builders of the cities of El Tajín and Teotihuacán..were the Olmecs proper. 1964C. Gibson Aztecs under Spanish Rule 9 The most important migrant peoples pertinent to Valley [of Mexico] history in the Post-Classic or late pre-colonial period were the Olmeca, Xicalanca, Tolteca, Chichimeca, Teochichimeca, Otomi... The first five of these were historically extinct, absorbed, or expelled by the time of the arrival of Europeans.
2. A prehistoric people inhabiting the same area c 1200–100 b.c. Also attrib. or as adj.; spec. designating the culture of this people or its characteristic artistic style, also found elsewhere in southern Mexico. So ˈOlmecan, ˈOlmecoid adjs.
[1927H. Beyer in El Mexico Antiguo II. 306 (caption) Idolo Olmego di Piedra Verdosa.] 1929Indian Notes (Mus. Amer. Indian, Heye Foundation) VI. 280 Beyer published a picture of what he calls ‘an Olmecan idol’ formerly in his possession and now in a private collection. Ibid. 285 This peculiar type of mask may be safely assigned to the ancient Olmecan culture, which apparently had its center in the San Andrés Tuxtla area around Lake Catemaco. 1932Natural Hist. XXXII. 519/2 There is often described in the traditions a highly civilized people called the Olmec, who lived anciently as far north as Tlaxcala, but were later dispersed to southern Vera Cruz, Chiapas, southern Puebla, and eastern Oaxaca. They were famed for their work in jade and turquoise, and were credited with being the chief users of rubber in Central America. Ibid. 520/2 Perhaps investigations in the Olmec area would clarify the much discussed relationship between the Mexicans and the Mayas. 1943M. W. Stirling Stone Monuments S. Mexico 7 Two years later he released a study..of the giant head in which he emphasized its ‘Ethiopian’ features, features which have since been identified with the style of art called Olmec. Ibid. 54 The niche..represents the ‘Olmec’ open-jaguar-mouth motive. 1960Times 6 Oct. 4/6 The Veracruz region, which is rich in..treasures of the Olmec..coastal cultures of ancient Mexico. 1962G. Ashe Land to West viii. 222 A clay Fire-god of the prehistoric Olmecs on the Gulf coast. 1965M. D. Coe in R. Wauchope Handbk. Middle Amer. Indians III. ii. 738 (heading) The Olmec style and its distributions. Ibid. 765 As one moves away from the core region and also into later time periods, many objects are encountered which are more or less Olmecoid, but these are not Olmec in our meaning. 1966Listener 29 Dec. 957/1 The most ancient civilization of Mesoamerica is that of the Olmecs. 1967L. Deuel Conquistadors without Swords xxi. 287 (caption) Substructure of Pyramid E-VII with its Olmecoid stucco masks. 1973New Yorker 24 Mar. 108/2 The Olmec civilization was not identified as such until the nineteen-forties. 1973Black World July 13/1 The huge stone heads of Olmec deities, exhibited an unmistakably African physiognomy. 1973Times 15 Oct. 11/8 The Olmec Forerunners, the archaic predecessors of the Maya though probably not themselves Maya. 1977Sci. Amer. Mar. 116/1 The Olmec, one of the earliest of the complex societies in the region, built major ceremonial centres on the low-lying coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico; examples are San Lorenzo and La Venta. Ibid., At the same time the Olmec zone of cultural influence and Olmec trade extended into much of the high plateau. |