Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
October 2001
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.
Monte Albán grew in size and stature, and by 200 A.D. the Main Plaza had been cleared to its largest size. Major buildings were constructed around bedrock outcroppings that could not be leveled. Elaborate royal tombs, furnished with numerous funerary urns and painted with murals, were placed under the North Platform. The urns are among the most distinctive Zapotec ceramics from this period. Although never as large or powerful as the city of Teotihuacan, Monte Albán apparently had peaceful relations with its central Mexico neighbor. A Oaxaca barrio at Teotihuacan revealed the distinctive Zapotec ceramic forms.
Citation
Department of the 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)
Further Reading
Marcus, Joyce, and Kent V. Flannery. Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society Evolved in Mexico's Oaxaca Valley. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1996.
Additional Essays by Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “La Venta: Sacred Architecture.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “La Venta: Stone Sculpture.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Monte Albán: Sacred Architecture.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Monte Albán: Stone Sculpture.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Teotihuacan.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Teotihuacan: Ciudadela.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Teotihuacan: Mural Painting.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Teotihuacan: Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Valdivia Figurines.” (October 2004)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Hopewell (1–400 A.D.).” (October 2002)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Indian Knoll (3000–2000 B.C.).” (October 2003)
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- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “African Rock Art: The Coldstream Stone.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Apollo 11 (ca. 25,500–23,500 B.C.) and Wonderwerk (ca. 8000 B.C.) Cave Stones.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Monumental Stelae of Aksum (3rd–4th Century).” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Tikal.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Tikal: Sacred Architecture.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Tikal: Stone Sculpture.” (October 2001)
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- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Foundations of Aksumite Civilization and Its Christian Legacy (1st–8th Century).” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Ife (from ca. 6th Century).” (originally published October 2000, last revised September 2014)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Inland Niger Delta.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Lydenburg Heads (ca. 500 A.D.).” (October 2000)
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- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Empires of the Western Sudan.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Empires of the Western Sudan: Ghana Empire.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Empires of the Western Sudan: Mali Empire.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Empires of the Western Sudan: Songhai Empire.” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Trans-Saharan Gold Trade (7th–14th Century).” (October 2000)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Trade and the Spread of Islam in Africa.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Mangarevan Sculpture.” (October 2003)
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- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “The Fulani/Fulbe People.” (October 2002)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Great Serpent Mound.” (October 2002)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Ancient American Jade.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Jade in Costa Rica.” (October 2001)
- Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “Jade in Mesoamerica.” (October 2001)
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