Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights:#1 The Olmec people, who occupied the center of Mesoamerica, were believed to have been Africans. The first humans to reach the American continent probably came from northeast Asia or Siberia and intermarried with the early inhabitants, who were probably Africans.#2 The land bridge allowed the first human ancestors to arrive in Mesoamerica about 1000 years after the ice sheets lowered the sea level by 300 feet. They were of Polynesian ancestry and had high cheekbones.#3 The Olmec civilization traded goods along the waterways of their territory. They used semi-precious stones like jade and turquoise for medicinal purposes, and they also traded gold and silver artifacts.#4 The Olmecs had a cluster of gods. The Olmec Dragon was a crocodile god that represented the earth plane. It represented agriculture and fertility, as the Olmecs were not only hunters but also farmers who created clearings in their vast forests and raised maize and beans.