Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán

• Official name: Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán
• Location: Oaxaca, Mexico
• Type: Cultural
• Year of inscription: 1987

The Historic Centre of Oaxaca and the Archaeological site of Monte Albán are two distinct cultural sites located in the central valley of Oaxaca between the Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre del Sur. The two sites are about 2.5 miles apart.

Monte Albán was inhabited for more than 1,500 years by numerous groups, including the Olmec, Zapotec, and Mixtec. It is considered the most important archaeological site in the Valley of Oaxaca. Monte Albán is also the second-largest site in all of Mesoamerica. Once the Zapotec capital, Monte Albán features terraces, dams, canals, tombs, a field for tlachtli ball games, pyramids, and artificial mounds that were carved out of the mountain.

The city, which extends over four square miles, flourished from about 500 Before the Common Era (BCE) to 850 Common Era (CE). A gradual abandonment of the site began at about that time. As Zapotec culture declined in the fourteenth century, the site was occupied by Mixtec peoples. The city features excellent planning in construction, with buildings positioned in a line from north to south. The site was built on high ground, likely for easier defense from intruders.

The city of Oaxaca de Juárez was founded in 1529. It was originally named Antequera and is an excellent example of a sixteenth-century colonial city. It also demonstrates typical town planning during this time period. This is evidenced by its checkerboard layout with square blocks and portals on all four sides. The city center remains important for economic, political, social, religious, and cultural activities in modern-day Oaxaca. It retains its original architecture and buildings, which represent almost five hundred years of cultural tradition in art and history. The site also contains at least 1,200 historic monuments. Major religious monuments, town houses, and streets lined with dwellings have maintained the image of this former colonial city.

History

Monte Albán

Monte Albán’s history is divided into five phases. The first phase represents the years 1,000-300 BCE, when the city’s first buildings were constructed. Most of these original structures have either been destroyed or buried under later Zapotec construction. The Zapotec civilization began to occupy the site around the first century BCE and established it as its religious and urban center.

Phase two, from 300 BCE-100 CE, corresponds to the urbanization of the site and domination of the natural environment. This is evidenced by the construction of terraces on the sides of hills and the development of a dam system. By 100 CE, the Zapotec had established Monte Albán as their ceremonial center.

The third phase consisted of the site’s most vigorous period of growth. It began after 100 CE and lasted until 800–900 CE. During this time, about 25,000 people lived in the city. The city reached its peak around 500 CE. The influence of Teotihuacan architectural styles became evident during this time period.

During the fourth phase, which began after 800–900, the city began to lose its political importance, and its structures began to decay. The final phase began when the Zapotec fled from the valley after being threatened by the Mixtec, who lived in the mountains. The Mixtec then inhabited the site, reusing some of the old Zapotec tombs. From this point on, the two cultures became fused. The site remained in Mixtec hands until the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century.

Oaxaca City Center

Oaxaca de Juárez was founded by the Spaniards after conquering the Aztec in 1529 and was originally named Antequera. Previous to Aztec occupation, the area had been inhabited by the Zapotec and Mixtec. The city, officially designated by Hernán Cortés, flourished in the eighteenth century.

In December 1997, the Oaxaca state government published a conservation plan for the Historic Centre of Oaxaca City. This plan specified land uses and purposes, the classification of buildings and their importance, and the standards for any interventions in the city center. A collaboration between federal, state, and municipal governments established regulations for land use to control urban growth at the site. This aimed to avoid destruction to the area of monuments. Similarly, Monte Albán has a management plan in place, which emphasizes social management to defend archaeological heritage from development.

In 2008, Monte Albán was included in the 2008 World Monuments Watch because of various threats affecting the site. The report also called for greater conservation measures. Some of the threats included looting, vandalism, and unchecked tourism, all of which affected the site’s structural integrity, and exposure to the elements, which eroded ancient Zapotec hieroglyphic inscriptions. Forest fires also impacted the site, decimating much of its buffer zone, damaging native crops and architectural remains, and opening it up to new human settlements. The World Monument Fund took action, depending on both public and private sector support, including Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, and the Alfredo Harp Helú Foundation. Stones were protected through these efforts, preventing further damage to hieroglyphics.

Ten years later, Monte Albán was again included in the 2018 World Monuments Watch due to the September 2017 earthquakes that caused damage to important archeological and heritage sites in eleven Mexican states. An 8.2 magnitude earthquake on September 7, 2017, caused severe damage at the site between the main plaza and Atzompa Monumental Zone to the north. In all, fifteen structures suffered structural damage, and five of these required emergency measures to prevent their collapse.

Nonetheless, both sites, which encompass an area of 927 acres (375 hectares), have been well-preserved, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which designated both as World Heritage Sites in 1987, after establishing they met four of the ten criteria. The Historic Centre of Oaxaca has preserved more than four centuries of religious architecture, ancient customs, and traditions despite many earthquakes over the years. Monte Albán has been well-preserved thanks to the conservation and management of the site. Oaxaca’s city center has upheld its form and design along with the use and function of several of its most iconic buildings despite the growth of the city and several earthquakes. This is largely due to the fact that the city's buildings were uniquely adapted and constructed to survive in an earthquake-prone region. Monte Albán’s location and setting have been largely preserved, and the form and design of the ceremonial center has remained intact.

Significance

The grid layout of Oaxaca makes it a unique example of urban planning in New Spain during the sixteenth century. The site was built in square blocks of one hundred yards per side and planned from a central square known as a zocalo. Traces of this grid layout were adopted in other colonial towns. This central spot was integral to economic, political, and religious powers. The city has developed over more than four centuries, all the while fusing Mesoamerican and Spanish cultures. A total of 1,200 historic monuments have been inventoried and listed within the Oaxaca city center. This includes major religious monuments, town houses, and entire streets lined with dwellings. Over time, the city center has remained an economic, political, social, and religious center.

The state of Oaxaca was one of the earliest sites of civilization in Mexico, and Monte Albán is the most important archaeological site in the Valley of Oaxaca. The city exerted considerable influence in Oaxaca state for more than one thousand years and is an outstanding example of a pre-Columbian ceremonial center in this region of Mexico. The site’s ball game court, temples, tombs, and bas-reliefs with hieroglyphs are testament to the different civilizations that occupied the site over time. Its architecture, on the other hand, represents great artistic achievement. About two hundred pre-Hispanic archaeological sites have been inventoried in the valley of Oaxaca. Of these, Monte Albán best represents a singular evolution of an area that was inhabited by a series of different peoples, in this case, the Olmec, Zapotec and Mixtec.

The Zapotec appeared to have specialized knowledge of astronomy and civil engineering, which they incorporated into the design of Monte Albán. For example, around the outside of a structure designated Building J, which scholars believe was an observatory built for religious purposes, are engravings that some experts believe are related to astronomy. Likewise, the orientation of the building is thought to be aligned with the star Capella, a bright star in the constellation Auriga. The structure has an orientation point that appears to point towards this star on May 2 each year, when the sun is 90 degrees from the horizon.

The Zapotec also developed a writing system in Monte Albán about 500 CE. That system is thought to be a precursor to later writing systems used by the ancient Maya, Mixtec, and Aztec. This system was logosyllabic, meaning each syllable in a word was represented by a symbol or letter. Monte Albán also had a numeral system consisting of dots and bars, which was later adopted by the Maya. Inscriptions at Monte Albán document major events in the history of the Zapotec civilization.

Bibliography

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Gray, Martin. “Monte Alban,” World Pilgrimage Guide, sacredsites.com/americas/mexico/monte‗alban.html. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

“Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Alban,” Organization of World Heritage Cities, www.ovpm.org/city/oaxaca-mexico. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

“Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán,” UNESCO World Heritage Centre, whc.unesco.org/en/list/415. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

“Monte Albán Archaeological Site,” World Monuments Fund, May 2023, www.wmf.org/project/monte-albán-archaeological-site. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

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“UNESCO—Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán,” Oaxaca Mio, www.oaxacamio.com/unesco‗oaxaca.htm. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.