Mexican Zapotec rugs, blankets, weavings
Monte Albán - Classic era history - page 3 of 5

During the second period, Monte Albán II, 100 B.C. to 200 A.D., there were an estimated seven hundred Oaxaca Valley communities with some fifty thousand inhabitants, while Monte Albán’s population had grown to ten thousand. New construction included the 8-acre Main Plaza and a ball court, shaped like a capital I, with bilateral inclined surfaces of smooth stucco. There is a large increase in public building and temples during this period, most of which are oriented toward the cardinal directions. The temple-patio-altar compound emerged as a ritual-ceremonial grounds. The largest of these is the Sunken Patio in the North Platform, measuring 54 yards on each side. A cistern was built in the Main Plaza. Drains lined with stone were used to evacuate inundation in the plazas and patios into dams and a large reservoir at the bottom of the hill.

Building J, an arrowhead-shaped structure, was constructed during this era. It includes the ruins of a temple on top, and its unusual shape is believed to be an astronomical indicator. Its outer walls contain about forty large slabs, weighing several tons each, with a variety of incised glyphs. Each depiction has a glyph in the center, with an inverted adorned human head below it and a symbol unique to the slab above it. The glyphs are sometimes accompanied by a text with place, names and dates. Alfonso Caso, director of archaeological explorations at Monte Albán from 1931 to 1943, described these glyphs as signifying places conquered by Monte Albán. A contrasting theory is that the slabs commemorate important allied communities. A few recycled danzante stones also appear in section of the Building J walls.

The classic era of Zapotec civilization is known as Monte Albán IIIa, from 200 to 500 A.D., and IIIb, from 500 t0 700 A.D. The Oaxaca Valley population grew to 100,000 inhabitants dispersed throughout some thousand communities. Zapotec art, symbols, and writing, which were limited to the elite families, flourished during this epoch, while carved stones are relatively rare. Monte Albán’s twenty-five thousand residents occupied more than two thousand family homes of three different styles. They all have a common floor plan of rooms surrounding a central patio, roofs of wood beams and thatch, and all contained a burial place. The simplest dwellings had wattle and daub walls with an open or semi closed format. Patios contained work areas, storage pits, ovens, and family graves. Intermediate size homes, constructed with adobe walls on stone foundations, contained a central patio with adjacent rooms and a modest tomb. Elite families lived in grand scale palaces. Rooms with thick walls and stucco floors surrounded an inner courtyard with stairways, an altar, and a ornamental tomb. These burial chambers, including Tombs 103, 104, 105, 112 and 125 at Monte Albán, were adorned with colorful murals and contained elaborate funerary urns, carved bone, and jewelry.

• Mexican rugs, Zapotec rugs
• Mexican Zapotec history
• Monte Albán
• Mexican Zapotec weaving

Mexican Zapotec history - Monte Albán demise - page 4

Taos Trading Post is an online store, offering a tasteful variety of authentic Native American Indian rugs. We have been buying rugs for over 20 years, are family owned and operated, and committed to providing our customers with quality rugs, coupled with unsurpassed service. Our store sells only those weavings that meet our superior standards; and will therefore provide you, the customer, with years of pleasure. We stock a choice selection of contemporary Native American rugs, including Navajo, Mexican Zapotec and Indian rugs. We offer an attractive selection of authentic hand spun Navajo wool rugs in regional rug styles, including the popular Ganado, Storm, Two Grey Hills, and Teec Nos Pos designs, and our pledge of authenticity. Whether you prefer an authentic Navajo weaving or replica, our Southwest rugs will introduce the Native American Indian atmosphere to your home. Navajo, Indian, Mexican Zapotec and Southwest rugs, blankets and weavings for sale online.