Ancient site · City
Monte Albán
The capital of the Zapotec state, founded around 500 BCE on a flattened ridgetop 400 metres above the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Its great plaza is lined with pyramids, platforms and a ballcourt.
Its earliest carvings, the so-called Danzantes ('dancers'), show naked men, probably slain captives, and some carry early Zapotec glyphs. By about 100 BCE – 200 CE it ruled much of the Oaxaca region. It declined after about 750 CE. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Dates
- c. 500 BCE – 850 CE
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 17.04° N, 96.77° W
How we know
Zapotec carvings with glyphs and dates survive here from early on, but the script is only partly understood; most knowledge comes from excavation.
Nearby sites
- San José Mogote c. 1500–500 BCE
- Guilá Naquitz Cave used c. 8800–6900 BCE and again c. 650–1450 CE
- San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán Olmec centre c. 1400–900 BCE
- La Venta c. 1200–400 BCE (main centre c. 900–400 BCE)
- Cuicuilco c. 1000 BCE – c. 300 CE
- Teotihuacan c. 100 BCE – 550 CE (centre burned); declined to c. 650 CE