along the river bank at the village's borders. Such sculptures could have depicted faces having broad features, thick lips, and almond-shaped eyes. The busts may have had a shaved heads, deformed by binding at infancy.
The villagers probably had small fields of corn, beans, squash, and chili peppers (Willey, 1991, p. 198). These crops would serve as adjuncts to food obtained through hunting, fishing, and gathering.
The Olmec were accomplished artists. Miscellaneous artifacts could have included small axes and figurines. These were probably manufactured and sold in small shops. Such artwork could have served as offerings to the gods. The Olmec were a religious people. For example, they had their own burial rituals (Scarre, 1993, p. 140). At a typical ceremonial site in the village, several deities may have been worshiped.
Around 1000 B.C., such a village would have been incorporated into a larger culture. The Olmec had a "statelike" organization (Rust & Sharer, 1988, pp. 102-104). These so-called states traded with other cultures, perhaps as far away as Central and South America.
A stone tool found among Lower Pleistocene outwash gravels in the western United States could be more than 700,000 years old. Moreover, it would indicate that Homo erectus had once inhabited North America. Although H. erectus represented a significant evolutionary advance over earlier hominids, it was H. sapiens who migrated across the Bering land bridge some 15,000 years ago (Scarre, 1993, p. 56).
Regardless though, a 700,000-year-old tool would have certain distinctive characteristics. For example, in China, two specific methods of making stone tools were employed by early H. erectus. At Zhoukoudian cave in northern China, tools were made by striking flakes off a larger rock. This technique created smaller, lighter tools.
In contrast, Homo erectus populations in central China, Europe, and Africa generally manufactured...