Olmecs (Look to the West)

The Olmecs were a civilization in OTL Mesoamerica. The last Olmec state, Epiolmec, collapsed in 900 CE. The Olmec civilization abandoned its heartland in 400 BCE due to volcanic activity and a changing climate. When the Dark Period began the Olmec city-states were particularly hard hit, loosing upwards of half their urban population to disease. Repeated epidemics nonwithstanding, the Olmecs flourished, becomming known to Rome and trading with other cultures in the region. However, the rise of other, more militant civilizations spelled the end of Olmec sovereignity. Remnants of Olmec culture persist in Epiolmec to this day.

The Olmec are credited with the invention of the Mesoamerican writing system.