🗿 Olmec and Zapotec Timeline (Mesoamerica)

By Luis.gonz08
  • 30,000 BCE

    🕰️ Paleo-Indian Timeline (c. 30,000 BCE – 8,000 BCE)

    Period Approx. Dates Key Events Characteristics
    Pre-Clovis ~30,000 – 13,500 BCE Possible early human migration from Asia into the Americas via the Bering Land Bridge (Beringia). Stone tools found in some sites suggest earlier human presence.
  • 13,500 BCE

    Clovis Culture ~13,500 – 12,800 BCE

    First widespread culture in North America. Known for Clovis points—distinctive fluted stone spear tips. People were nomadic big-game hunters, hunting mammoths and mastodons.
  • 1500 BCE

    🗿 Olmec and Zapotec Timeline (Mesoamerica)

    Civilization Period Key Characteristics Achievements
    Olmecs ~1500 – 400 BCE 🌴 First major Mesoamerican civilization, located in the Gulf Coast (Veracruz and Tabasco).🗿 Created colossal stone heads.🏛️ Built cities like San Lorenzo and La Venta.📜 Developed one of the earliest writing and calendar systems.🙏 Practiced religion centered on jaguar gods and nature.
  • 700 BCE

    Zapotecs ~700 BCE – 900 CE 🏔️

    🏔️ Based in the Oaxaca Valley.🏙️ Built the city of Monte Albán, one of the first urban centers in Mesoamerica.📜 Created an early hieroglyphic writing system and calendar.⚱️ Known for their ceramics, architecture, and organized government.🕊️ Continued to thrive after the Olmecs, influencing later cultures like the Mixtecs.
  • 1000

    Late Paleo-Indian Period ~10,000 – 8,000 BCE

    Climate warmed after the Ice Age. People became more diverse in their tools and food sources, including plants and fish. Transition toward Archaic Period and more permanent settlements.

  • Folsom Culture ~12,800 – 10,000 BCE

    Developed more refined Folsom points. Adapted to changing climates as megafauna went extinct; began hunting smaller animals like bison.