The first complex civilization known in Mesoamerica is that of the Olmecs, who inhabited the coastal region of the Gulf of Mexico during the initial preclassic period, from 1300 BC, with apogee between 1150 and 700 BC at the sites of La Venta and San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan. Traces of other early cultures, possibly linked to the Olmecs in Abaj Takalik and Izapa, were found.
