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 Renaissance Guatemalan and foreign contributors. It was awarded the "Best Colorado Filmmaker Documentary Award" at The Film Festival of Colorado in July 2012. The documentary is the first of a planned ten-part "Nobel Legacy Film Series". Mayan Renaissance Mayan Renaissance is a 2012 American documentary film by director Dawn Engle about the Maya peoples of Guatemala and Central America. It describes the ancient Maya civilization, the conquest by Spain during the 1520s, hundreds of years of oppression, and the modern struggle by Mayans for self-determination and a Mayan renaissance. Its première screening at the United Nations Headquarters was on 16 May