The Olmec lived in the lowlands of what are now Veracruz and Tabasco states from about 1200 bc.
Meso-America is the term used to describe the ancient settlements of Mexico and Central America. The earliest elaborate civilization known in the Americas is that of the Olmec of central Mexico. The Olmec lived in the lowlands of what are now Veracruz and Tabasco states from about 1200 bc. They left artifacts ranging from tiny jade carvings to huge monuments such as the volcanic rock statues at San Lorenzo. These monuments suggest the existence of an organized and diverse society with leaders who could command the work of artisans and laborers. Among the many other complex pre-Columbian civilizations in Central and South America were the Chavín, Nazca, Moche, and Inca of Peru, the Chibcha and Tairona of Colombia, the Marajoara and Tapajó of Brazil, the Maya of the Yucatán Peninsula, and the Aztec of Mexico. ( See also American Indians; Middle American Indians; Central American and Northern Andean Indians; Central Andean Indians; Rainforest Indians; South American Nomadic Indians.)