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
Mayan languages as Tzeltal/Tzotzil "ti' na" "door" (lit. "mouth of house"), or Kaqchikel "chi ru-pam" "inside" (lit. "mouth its-stomach"). A number of loanwords of Mayan or potentially Mayan origins are found in other languages, principally Spanish, English, and some neighboring Mesoamerican languages. In addition, Mayan languages borrowed words, especially from Spanish. A Mayan loanword is "cigar". is Mayan for "tobacco" and means "to smoke tobacco leaves". This is the most likely origin for cigar and thus cigarette. The English word "hurricane", which is a borrowing from the Spanish word is considered to be related to the name of Maya storm deity Jun