Zapotec Art II - On Location at Monte Albán

Constructed around the year 100 BC, Building J is the most famous and intriguing edifice in the ancient Zapotec site of Monte Albán. Although most of the architectural center was built along fairly rectangular grids, Building J had its own unique shape and orientation, like an arrow pointing in a direction askew to the rest of the site. For decades this peculiar building puzzled anthropologists until astronomer Anthony Aveni and architect Horst Hartung discerned that its sharp angle was pointing toward Capella, a pair of binary stars in the Auriga constellation.
Building J was decorated with a series of relief panels, each depicting a horizontal symbol for a region and glyphs indicating the day, month, and year it was conquered. The inverted head, seen in the detal facing left below the region symbol, indicated the act of conquest itself. Building J was thus one of several monuments at Monte Albán commemorating important conquests that secured its supremacy in central Oaxaca.

Monte Albán

I took this photo from the elevation at the southernmost end of the site, where you can see some noteworthy architectural details. Most significant of these is the "temple-patio-altar" complex, formed by the three structures from left to front. Archaeologists at the site have discovered a stone foundation that surrounds the square space between the two flanking structures: this must have supported a set of adobe walls enclosing the ritual patio. According to descriptions at the site, the elevated platform toward the front of the photo helped seclude the ritual space from outside view, to allow its rites to be performed in private. Immediately to the north is an important set of danzante stelae, depicting war captives bound in graphic and humiliating positions.

Monte Albán

Current research at the site points out that not only was Monte Albán one of the earliest major sites in all of Mesoamerica, but it was also one of the longest-occupied. Anthropologists also recognize Monte Albán as one of the few archaeological sites in the world with a clear record of a society's political evolution from advanced chiefdom to archaic state. Founded around 500 BC, Zapotec lords continually inhabited the acropolis for over thirteen centuries until they abandoned it by 850 AD, for reasons still unknown. The southern elevation I was standing on for the photo above now appears in the rear center of this panoramic view, looking southward on the site with the Oaxaca range behind. This vista presents the actually commanding view that the Zapotec rulers enjoyed of their territory.

Monte Albán

Michael D. Coe and Rex Koontz note that Monte Albán had over 170 tombs around the site, and by the Classic Period they would become decorated with brilliant murals and ceramic vessels for their deceased kings and queens. This sunken patio, within the north platform, leads to one such tomb.
Long after the Zapotec left the site, the expanding Mixtec civilization would enter and repurpose the buildings for their own burials, including the magnificent Tomb 7, one of the richest tombs ever documented from the ancient world. Their occupation of Monte Albán would begin by around 1350 as they started to control more of Oaxaca.

Monte Albán

While much of Monte Albán was distinctly Zapotec in design and purpose, hints around the site reveal influence from other civilizations. Maya details appeared during the Late Formative Period, and this imposing structure very well reflects the Teotihuacan presence at the site by the Early Classic, particularly from 300 to 600 AD.
How can we tell? Captions at the site describe outstanding features of the "Jeweled Platform" shown here, whose panels reveal rows of prominent red disks, recalling Teotihuacan designs. It also has remnants of talud-tablero architecture, known for its alternation of rectangular tiers and upward slopes among many buildings in Teotihuacan. Evidence of work in the mica mineral also suggests economic ties with the great pyramid city to the north. Just as these elements suggest a Teotihuacan barrio at Monte Albán, there is also evidence from the same period of a Zapotec community at Teotihuacan, like a foreign exchange program!

Monte Albán

One of the few texts excavated from its original location, Stele 15 is a remarkable monument because of the complexity of its content. The replica at left shows its context, an enclosed 'chapel' within a building toward the northeast of the Monte Albán acropolis. The original is in the site museum, and it appears at right.
This stele is an exemplar of the interplay between image and inscription in the ancient Mesoamerican world. Glyphs hover around the event taking place among at least four major figures. Identified by the 'Six Quake' glyph before his face, the seated man toward the left faces inward to the scene. Toward the bottom center lays the governor 'Five Reed,' a supine man raising a ceremonial offering in his hands. At right is a great bird named 'Seven Brush,' perhaps a lord transformed into his nagual companion spirit. He presents a subjugated man as an offering, kneeling at the bottom right. The site commentary suggests that this scene could be describing ritual offerings and royal lineage to legitimize Governor Five Reed's accession. Most of these glyphs reference the respective figures' birthdays in the ritual calendar.

Monte Albán, Monte Albán Site Museum

Building E was erected toward the northernmost end of the Monte Albán acropolis. By the year 800 it was enlarged, with a new staircase leading to the north platform's level. Around this time the Zapotec also erected a tall stone stele toward the top of the stairs.
This stele is an excellent example of Zapotec writing. According to commentary at the site, the four human figures are all women: the two on the left, the one at upper right, and the one in the lower right corner. (A birthday calendar sign and a personal name identifies each woman.) In the middle right is a kneeling jaguar with a man's face before it, which could imply that the jaguar is a supernatural representation of the man in question. Like Stele 15 above, the entire surface is packed with glyphs and figures, all of the space utilized to tell as much information as possible. It likely tells of a ritual around the young man in his jaguar visage, and the women around him represent female relatives with whom he shares sacred, royal lineage - and thus political authority.
(Man was I sunburnt by the end of this visit!)

Monte Albán