El Manatí "elongated man" style and are the oldest wooden artifacts yet found in Mexico. The rubber balls are also the earliest such items yet discovered and were possibly used in the Mesoamerican ballgame. The Olmec were a Pre-Columbian civilization living in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, close to the border between the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco. The Olmec flourished during Mesoamerica's Formative period, dating roughly from as early as 1500 BCE to about 400 BCE. Pre-Olmec cultures had flourished in the area since about 2500 BCE, but by 1600-1500 BCE Early Olmec culture had emerged centered around the
Civilisations (TV series) "Civilisations Festival" is a season of events organised by the BBC in partnership with museums, galleries, libraries and archives across the UK, created to coincide with "Civilisations". It runs from 2 to 11 March 2018 and the trailer for the festival was released on 8 February 2018. Profile Books issued two tie-in volumes adapted by Mary Beard and David Olusoga from their episodes; respectively, these books are "Civilisations: How Do We Look / The Eye of Faith" () and "Civilisations: First Contact / The Cult of Progress" (). The series was launched at a preview event at the National Gallery