The most famous Zapotec city is
Monte Alban, located in the
Valley of Oaxaca in the highlands of
Mexico. It is argued that the foundation for this great city was provided by
the Olmec, but the actual construction is credited to
the peoples of Oaxaca, Morelos, and the Valley of Mexico (Sabloff 46). Olmec
influence appears to retreat around A.D. 100. Over the next 800 to 900 years
the Zapotec transformed Monte Alban into a bustling central city. By Post
Classic times Monte Alban was essentially deserted. Many of the remains found
today are from tombs and burials of the later Mixtec influence (Lathrop
58).
The beginnings of Zapotec occupation of Monte Alban date to Pre-Classic times, starting around 500-400 B.C. Simple tombs were found, some containing a grey pasty pottery. Solid figurines, similar to the Tlatilco type also dated back to Pre-Classic times. The Temple of Danzantes is thought to be the first permanent structure in Monte Alban. It is faced with stones depicting nude males, many resembling the Olmec in features. They are also thought to be prisoners caught by the Zapotec during battles (Sabloff 54).
There is plenty of evidence that the Zapotec were using the 52 year calendar cycle, because of hieroglyphics, numerals and calendrical inscriptions. The well known Temple J dates back to around 200-100 B.C. It is often referred to as an observatory and is curiously shaped like an arrow. On the face of the structure are 40 stones with carvings of places thought to be conquered by the Zapotec.
From 0-500 A.D. Monte Alban was at its peak. Teotihuacan influence is found in certain styles and pottery decorations. They most certainly were trading goods with the Teotihuacan. Intricate funeral urns appear in the burials and the tombs are decorated with paintings of gods and priests, all brightly colored.
By 500-1000 A.D. the Zapotec had strong cultural ties with Teotihuacan. Many of the structures and paintings show their influence. After A.D.1000 up to the conquest, Monte Alban was slowly deserted, leaving the city to crumble and rot in the highlands of Mexico.
The Zapotec most likely didn't inhabit the city itself. It was more of a religious and ceremonial center that people gathered at for these purposes. There are no water sources nearby and the city's size is restricted by the hills surrounding it (Lathrop 59). It is believed that the residents of Monte Alban lived in terraces built on the hillsides surrounding the city center, perhaps a few lived right in the city (Sabloff 207).
Lathrop, Jacqueline Phillips. Ancient Mexico-
Cultural Traditions in the Land of the Feathered Serpent. Kendall Hunt
Publishing, 4th ed. 1991.
Sabloff, Jeremy A. The Cities of Ancient
Mexico- Reconstructing a Lost World. Thames & Hudson 1989.