The Cloud People--the Zapotecs--called the place Danipaguache, "The Sacred Mountain of Life". Much later, the Spaniards renamed it Monte Albán, "White Mountain". I like the Zapotec name better, but Monte Albán, wouldn't you know it, is the name that stuck.
The Zapotecs established Danipaguache high on a hill above the Valley of Oaxaca in 500 BCE (that's the historians' way of saying 500 BC). Two thousand five hundred and nine years later to the day, Travis and Allen and Jaime and I caught a bus to go see it (okay, maybe it wasn't to the day).
Some of us studied for a little while first, since we arrived at the bus office not knowing when the bus left. The rest of us kept an eye on that guy in the background.
Soon enough, we were shepherded around the corner and into a big van (or small bus) with some other people, and driven up a steep and winding street with several stops along the way to pick up and drop off still other people who seemed to be neighbors. Eventually, the bus stopped in a parking area from which we trudged a block or so uphill toward the entrance to the ruins of Monte Albán (which we'll call it from now on so as not to confuse you or your writer).
There were vendors all around, and it was hot and sunny, so we went hat shopping first.
I bought a swell hat for 30 pesos (that's around $2.50) which I later decorated, but that's another story.
Then we climbed the steps to the gate, just outside the museum. As luck would have it, we were approached by a young fellow who turned out to be the best possible and most well-informed guide we could possibly have wished for. We hired him on the spot.
He gave us a quick history lesson first. For nearly thirteen hundred years, from 500 BCE until sometime around 800 CE, Monte Albán was the center of Zapotec culture and worship. The Zapotecs were a sophisticated culture, with a numerical system, two different calendars (a 260-day sacred calendar and a 365-day solar calendar), complex knowledge of astronomy, and probably the first writing system in Mesoamerica. The city itself was home to priests, nobles, farmers, astronomers, artists and craftsmen; and in its golden age had a population of 25,000.
The ruins have been (are still being) meticulously restored, using original materials wherever possible. For the sake of preservation and study, many areas are closed to the public, but we were free to roam and explore quite a bit. We were even allowed to crawl into one of the 107 tombs. We didn't stay long enough to take any pictures.
I was captivated by the arrowhead shaped building in the next photo, romantically titled "Building J". It is also known as "The Observatory" and appears to have been built in aspect to astronomical bodies or phenomena. Our guide explained the importance of the sun, the moon, and certain planets and constellations to the Zapotec culture.
Still mysterious are the Danzantes--the figures carved on stone stelae and given the name "Dancers" in the 19th century. Archeologists now believe they are testimony to slain enemies--maybe sacrificed and disemboweled enemies.
Most of the original glyphs and carvings have been moved inside the beautiful on-site museum, where we gazed to our hearts' content, read stories and history, used the nice clean new bathrooms and then went outside to the pretty covered patio and had a cerveza or two.
I found this website while I was refreshing my wobbly memory. Do take a look if you want to know more. I especially recommend clicking on the Historic Timeline for a good quick overview of 2500 years.
➣I believe T. Ashby took the first two photos. Thank you.
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