Olmec alternative origin speculations

Although these speculations have become somewhat well-known within popular culture, particularly the idea of an African connection to the Olmec, they are not regarded as credible by mainstream researchers of Mesoamerica and are considered fringe theories.

The great majority of scholars who specialize in Mesoamerican history, archaeology and linguistics remain unconvinced by alternative origin speculations.

[2] The consensus view maintained across publications in peer-reviewed academic journals that are concerned with Mesoamerican and other pre-Columbian research is that the Olmec and their achievements arose from influences and traditions that were wholly indigenous to the region, or at least the New World, and there is no reliable material evidence to suggest otherwise.

[10] Leo Wiener argued that Arabized "Black" West Africans influenced the cultures of Mexico which alongside the discovery of the Olmec heads resulted in more speculation,[11] in particular, the symbols on the Tuxtla Statuette, Teo Mask,[citation needed] and the celts (tools) in Offering 4 at La Venta.

[18] In 1975, Betty Meggers of the Smithsonian Institution argued that the Olmec civilization originated due to Shang Chinese influences around 1200 BC.

[19] In a 1996 book, Mike Xu, with the aid of Chen Hanping, claimed that the very same La Venta celts discussed above actually bore Chinese characters.

[22] The evidence relied on by Mike Xu, including the coincidence of markings on Olmec pottery with those on Chinese oracle bone writings, the significance of jade in both cultures and the shared knowledge of the position of true North, was discussed in an article by Claire Liu in 1997.

A popular Book of Mormon geography model places the scene of the Jaredite arrival and subsequent development in lands around the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mesoamerica.

[25] The tradition leading to this Mesoamerican model, however, does not clearly originate with the Book of Mormon, but with enthusiastic interest in John Lloyd Stephens's 1841 bestseller, Incidents of travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan.

According to Michael Coe, explorer and cultural diffusionist Thor Heyerdahl claimed that at least some of the Olmec leadership had Nordic ancestry, a view at least partly inspired by the bearded figure, often referred to as "Uncle Sam",[28] carved into La Venta Stela 3, whose apparent aquiline nose has been cited as possible evidence for ancient visitors to the Americas from the Old World: The presence of Uncle Sam inspired Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian explorer and author of The Kon-Tiki Expedition, among others to claim a Nordic ancestry for at least some of the Olmec leadership ... [However], it is extremely misleading to use the testimony of artistic representations to prove ethnic theories.

In it, at least one of the Olmec colossal heads depicts an African-American college student who traveled back in time while wearing his football helmet.