Exploiting the prime agricultural land around the rivers that form the three main arms of the Valley of Oaxaca, the Zapotec residents of San José Mogote constructed the first permanent structures dedicated to public rituals in about 600 B.C., when a slab carved with a reclining figure—almost certainly a slain captive—and a calendrical glyph ("1 Earthquake") was set in the corridor of one of the buildings. It is one of the earliest examples of writing in Mesoamerica. Residents of the valley floor gradually moved to a hill where Monte Albán was established, commanding views of the entire valley. A great plaza was cleared and structures built on its periphery, with an enormous defensive wall around the northern and western sides of the hill. The center thrived for hundreds of years after its founding in 500 B.C. With a relatively small population—some 5,000 people by 300 B.C.—it dominated the Valley of Oaxaca and its surrounding areas.
Citation for this page
Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. "Monte Albán". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/alban/hd_alban.htm (October 2001)
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Marcus, Joyce, and Kent V. Flannery. Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society Evolved in Mexico's Oaxaca Valley. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1996.
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