Olmec Religion

 
 
 
 
 
 

 The Olmec praticed polytheism. Polytheism is the belief of many gods.The Olmec had many beliefs. Among these beliefs were Chaneques which were dwarfs who lived in waterfalls. The Olmec also believed thet certain animals had special powers.They believed the jauger was the most powerful. The jauger was thought to bring fertile crops. The Olmec often carved half human and half jauger statues out of jade and stone. They did rituals in May. They danced and imated the sound of thunder by cracking whips.     You can find pictures and information about the Mesoamerican cultures at http://www.mesoweb.com USE THE NETSCAPE BACK BUTTON TO RETURN HERE FROM THE MESOWEB SITE Mayan Religion  The Mayan  believed the universe was made up of three levels. The upperworld of the heavens, the middleworld  of the humans and the underworld the dead. They also believed that thier king could communicate with the upperworld. The king could also translate spirts to the middle world.  The Mayan worshiped many gods like the Olmec. One important god was Yum Kax, god of maize. Different people worshiped different gods. The king and nobles led many of the ceremonies to worship the gods. Venus was important to the Mayan. It help decide when to attack other cities. By studing the night sky they could also make an accurate calander. This allowed to record the exact dates of events such as ceremonies.