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If you are in the lovely country of Mexico, do not forget to visit Zapotec City. It was believed by the scientists and historians that the Zapotec City flourished from 1100 to 1521 A.D. Other scholars suggest that it was founded in the year 1399 by the keen Zaachila governor.
The Zapotec City in Mexico includes Zaachila, located 15 kilometers south of Oaxaca City, in the center of the town. The full extent of the town has not been established, as many of the mounds, plazas and constructions of the area have been used by local inhabitants to build their own houses. You need to drive for 25 minutes on the Xoxo-Cuilapan Road to reach Zapotec City.
Compared to other archaeological sites in the city of Oaxaca, Zaachila has not been much explored. Yet it was the last important Zapotec City following the fall of Monte Alban. One of the great tourist spots of Mexico, Zapotec City attracts numerous tourists and travelers all the year around.
Although barely explored, the site of Zaachila has a group of mounds, including mound B, known as El Cerrito and mound A, on which Roberto Gallegos explored 2 tombs in 1962. Visitors can enter these 2 tombs and learn how Zaachila inhabitants used to build them to bury their dead, according to the individuals' rank.
Archeological site and church of Zaachila show cases the union and contrasts of 2 cultures. At the top of Mound A, there are 2 Mixtec tombs decorated with jaguar heads and owls with out-stretched wings. Tomb 2 contained pieces worked in gold, jade and other precious materials.
Tomb 1 contains a stair, a vestibule, an antechamber and a chamber. It has a facade with a slab decorated with designs and frescos in red. Also inside are 7 figures in stucco, out of which 2 of the figures are night birds that are believed to be the messengers of Mitlantecutli, the God of the Underworld.
The Zapotec City in Mexico was believed to be built in the early Formative and Classic stages from about 200 BC through to 1000 AD. However, Zapotec origins are obscure, but they have said to emerge with Monte Alban as their capital, and distinctive material culture including grey ware pottery, in the period 200 BC to 200 AD.
By the late Post-Classic stage, the Mixtec had begun to infiltrate into Zapotec society and were finally absorbed into the Aztec empire. The Zapotec had their own language and distinct culture.
The Zapotec society was largely agricultural and the members used to practice shifting cultivation. The major crafts include pottery and weaving and the Zapotec's professed Roman Catholicism.
As you visit Zapotec City, you will be amazed by the historic sites and how people at that time used to live and flourished.
travel.mapsofworld.com. provides online information on Zapotec City.
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