The name Olmec was meant to be used in a archaeological sense that refers to the central Mexico culture that flourished from 1800-400BC .

We do not know what they actually called themselves, but this term “Olmec” came from the Nahuatl speaking Mexica (Aztec). The Mexica referred to the “Olmec”territories of Tabasco and Veracruz as “Olman” for the rubber production that took place there.

They spoke the Mixe–Zoque language. Scientific evidence suggest that they came northern Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Modern day Mexico, therefore any wild theories that they came from Africa, Asia, Israel can be fully debunked.

They have been called the mother culture of meso-America but newer studies in the Peten Region of Guatemala suggest a more complex and collaborative culture exchange between them and the Pre-classic Maya. We can even see how some ancient cities evolved and developed from “Olmec” cultures into Maya ones, Tak'alik Ab'aj in Retalhuleu, Guatemala being the prime example.

One of the most re-occurring motifs in their artwork was that of the Jaguar. In a a lot of cases it was men transforming into Jaguars.