Monte Alban is the ancient capital of the Zapotecs, which is located in the state of Oaxaca in southwestern Mexico. Archaeological excavations cover 4 square kilometers of rocky peaks and hills, which are more than 400 meters high. Soon after its foundation in 500 BC, Monte Alban reached the size of a city, becoming one of the first cities in America. When the Spanish reached the central valleys of Oaxaca in the 1520s, the ancient site was abandoned. The Zapotec name of this place is unknown, as is the origin of the current name Monte Alban.
Description of Monte Alban
It is one of the most intensively studied pre-Hispanic monuments. The ancient city was divided into residential areas, and most people lived on terraces that were carved into the hillside. Water was extracted by channeling rivers into cisterns. Monumental stone buildings covered the top of the artificially leveled hill, forming the ceremonial, residential and administrative core of the city.
The pyramids were decorated with stucco reliefs and carved stones with hieroglyphs. The heads of noble families were placed in underground tombs with painted frescoes and funeral urns of the Zapotecs. Zapotec writing, the earliest form of writing in the New World (dating back to 600 BC), remains largely undeciphered, but records in Monte Alban contain the names of rulers and calendar dates. Other inscriptions refer to conquered territories outside the central valleys of Oaxaca.
Features of Monte Alban
The maximum population of Monte Alban is estimated at 30,000 people. Hieroglyphic inscriptions and ceramics from Monte Alban suggest contact with other leading centers of ancient Mexico, including the city of Teotihuacan. By 800 AD, Monte Alban had collapsed, and most of the city's population had moved to rival centers in the surrounding valley. The reasons for its collapse are unknown.
Modern archaeological excavations have been partially completed and are the main attraction of the settlement. Now the complex contains magnificent squares, numerous pyramids, a ball court, underground passages and more than 170 tombs. Modern residents of the city of Oaxaca are resettling its lower slopes.
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