At the time, the most advanced of the emerging societies was the Olmec civilization. We will discuss the Olmecs briefly in the next chapter since it appears that they had an influence on the Maya people in terms of art, iconography and writing during the Late Preclassic and Classic periods. While the debate still lingers, many consider the Olmec influence so widespread that Olmec is considered the mother culture of the Americas. For instance, while the Maya are credited for the widely used concept of zero, the Olmecs are credited for having conceptualized it originally.
Discovery of zero
