Intellectual and Artistic pursuits

The Olmecs had early achievements in art. They made fine pottery and carved jade jewelry. The most common artwork made by the Olemcs were the "colossal heads" The aspect of the Olmecs that were  familiar was their artwork and artifacts which were bought by collectors in the Pre-Columbian art market in the late 19th and early 20th century. Olmec artwork are defined as the most striking of all the ancient American artwork. The Olmecs used wood, basalt and jade to build the statues, the statues represented many things, such as the "Muscle Man" on the top left. The Olmecs used art to glorify rulers by making them monuments of super natural creatures to portray them such as part human, part beast. The beasts were usually jaguars. Intellectually wise, the Olmecs were known for their fine architecture, concept of zero, developing a calendar, creating a hieroglyphic and are also credited with the first conduit drainage system.  The Olmecs also built many great cities with stone buildings and temples. Their architecture was exquisite, building giant stone buildings with their bare hands. They were also known for developing a number system, calender, and a form of writing. These were later adapted by other civilizations in the future.