In the Original Olmec

doi:10.1126/science.298.5600.1843d

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A written language emerged in Mesoamerica sometime in the first millenium B.C. It was used in southeastern Mexico by the Olmec, who were responsible for many of the first monuments in the New World and who developed large cities, and the language formed the basis for later Mayan writing. However, the time, location, and developers of Mesoamerican writing have been widely debated. Pohl et al. (p. 1984; see the news story by Stokstad) have uncovered a seal and plaque holding glyphic inscriptions from near La Venta, Mexico, an ancient Olmec center. Radiocarbon dates and associated pottery imply that these artifacts date 650 B.C. These finds imply that this region was the origin of Mesoamerican writing and the calendar system, rather than cultures in southwestern Mexico.