Although the Olmec centres of San Lorenzo and La Venta and their associated art are so well known, for clues to ordinary Olmec life we must turn to intensively investigated regions like the Valley of Mexico and the Oaxaca Valley in the highland zone in the centuries around 1500-1000 BC.
Here we can see the development from simple farming villages to a local settlement hierarchy, with centres like San Jose Mogote providing a focus for the surrounding hamlets. In these centres religious activities such as festivals and dances would have taken place; craft specialists resided here as did the elite, occupying more elaborate houses and being buried with splendid accoutrements.
Although the pattern was probably similar in the Olmec area, the size of San Lorenzo and La Venta and the impressiveness of the associated material shows that these were operating on a larger scale.
There were also a number of settlements in strategic locations which have yielded a concentration of Olmec goods. These were Olmec trading outposts, set up to control the supply of desirable commodities. In such sites many typical Olmec architectural features can be seen, such as lime stucco floors and plaster, and dressed stone facings on public buildings.
