The Zapotec civilization (Be'ena'a(Zapotec) "The People" c. 700 BC1521 AD) was an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca in Mesoamerica. Archaeological evidence shows that their culture originated at least 2,500 years ago. The Zapotec archaeological site at the ancient city of Monte Albn has monumental buildings, ball courts, magnificent tombs and grave goods, including finely worked gold jewelry. Monte Albn was one of the first major cities in Mesoamerica. It was the center of a Zapotec state that dominated much of the territory which today is known as the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
History
Zapotec civilization originated in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca in the late 6th century BC. The three valleys were divided among three different-sized societies, separated by 80 square kilometres (31sqmi) no-mans-land in the middle. The city of Oaxaca much later developed in that area. Archaeological evidence, such as burned temples and sacrificed war captives, suggests that the three societies competed against each other. At the end of the Rosario phase (700500 BC), the valley's largest settlement San Jos Mogote, and a nearby settlement in the Etla valley, lost most of their population.
During the same period, a new large settlement developed in the no-mans-land on top of a mountain overlooking the three valleys; it was later called Monte Albn. Early Monte Albn pottery is similar to pottery from San Jos Mogote, which suggests that the newer city was populated by people who had left San Jos Mogote. Although there is no direct evidence in the early phases of Monte Albn's history, walls and fortifications around the site during the archaeological phase Monte Alban 2 (ca. 100 BC200 AD) suggest that the city was constructed in response to a military threat. American archaeologists Joyce Marcus and Kent V. Flannery liken this process to what happened in ancient Greece - synoikism: a centralization of smaller dispersed populations congregated in a central city to meet an external threat.
The Zapotec state formed at Monte Albn began to expand during the late Monte Alban 1 phase (400100 BC) and throughout the Monte Alban 2 phase (100 BC AD 200). During Monte Alban 1c (roughly 200 BC) to Monte Alban 2 (200 BC AD 100), Zapotec rulers seized control of the provinces outside the valley of Oaxaca because none of the surrounding provinces could compete with them politically and militarily. By 200 AD, the Zapotec had extended their influence, from Quiotepec in the North to Ocelotepec and Chiltepec in the South. Monte Albn had become the largest city in what are today the southern Mexican highlands, and retained this status until approximately 700 AD.
The expansion of the Zapotec empire peaked during the Monte Alban 2 phase. The Zapotec conquered or colonized settlements far beyond The Valley of Oaxaca. Most notably, their influence is visible in the sudden change in style of ceramics made in regions outside the valley. These regions' unique styles were suddenly replaced with Zapotec-style pottery, indicating their integration into the Zapotec empire.
Archaeologist Alfonso Caso, one of the first to conduct excavations in Monte Albn in the 1930s, argued that a building on the main plaza of Monte Albn is further evidence for the dramatic expansion of the Zapotec state. What today is called Building J is shaped like an arrowhead, unlike other monumental buildings. It displays more than 40 carved stones with hieroglyphic writing. Archaeologists interpreted the glyphs to represent the provinces controlled by the Zapotec. Each glyph group also depicts a head with an elaborate head dress carved into the slabs. These are assumed to represent the rulers of the provinces. Heads turned upside down are believed to represent the rulers killed and whose provinces were taken by force, while the upright ones may represent those who did not resist colonization and had their lives spared. For this reason, Building J is also referred to by archeologists as The Conquest Slab.
Marcus and Flannery write about the subsequent dramatic expansion of the Monte Albn state, noting when there is
"a great disparity in populations between the core of a state and its periphery, it may only be necessary for the former to send colonists to the latter. Small polities, seeing that resistance would be futile, may accept a face-saving offer. Larger polities unwilling to lose their autonomy may have to be subdued militarily. During the expansion of Monte Alban 2 state, we think we see both colonization and conquest".
External links
- Media related to Zapotec people at Wikimedia Commons