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Ancient America

Olmec 101

Olmec 101
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 5 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.79

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    ballgame, lasting, modern-day, ritual, literally, gamble, material, risky, central, violent, outcome, example, phrase, tribe, thus, injury
     content words:    Central America, Tuxtla Mountains

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Olmec 101
By Vickie Chao 		  
1     Central America has many old cultures. The Maya, for example, was a very famous tribe. So was the Aztec. But both, as it turns out, would be considered "young" if we were to compare them with the Olmec.
 
2     The Olmecs were a group of people living along the south coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Their land covered two modern-day states in Mexico. They are Veracruz and Tabasco.
 
3     The Olmecs had a great run in history between 1200 B.C. and 400 B.C. Back in those days, they were the record setters in this part of the world. For example, they were the first in the Americas to develop a written language. And they were the first in the Americas to build pyramids. But sadly, many of their accomplishments have disappeared over time. Today, we know almost nothing about the Olmecs and their amazing culture. As a matter of fact, we do not even know what they called themselves!

Paragraphs 4 to 8:
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