Zapotec
The Zapotec are an indigenous people of Mesoamerica, primarily located in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico. Historically, they established a prominent pre-Columbian kingdom centered at Monte Albán, which flourished from around 500 BCE to 900 CE. The Zapotec civilization was characterized by a highly stratified society, with divine kings at the top, followed by a hereditary nobility, priests, and a large population of farmers who practiced irrigation agriculture, primarily growing maize, beans, and squash. They were known for their rich cultural practices, including a hieroglyphic writing system, a 260-day calendar, and involvement in Mesoamerican ceremonies such as human and animal sacrifice.
The Zapotec engaged in military conquests, which were recorded on stone slabs at Monte Albán, and they maintained a complex political relationship with the powerful Teotihuacán civilization. By the late 1400s, the Zapotec kingdoms began to decline, ultimately succumbing to the Aztec and later Spanish conquests. Today, approximately 472,000 people still speak the Zapotec language, reflecting a vibrant cultural heritage that persists despite historical challenges. The Zapotec continue to maintain traditions and practices rooted in their ancient civilization.
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Zapotec
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Mesoamerica
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Oto-Manguean
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico
The pre-Columbian Zapotec kingdom was centered in the Valley of Oaxaca, at the mountaintop site of Monte Albán (estimated population of ten thousand). From there, the Zapotec extended their rule over the entire valley and over much of the present-day Mexican state of Oaxaca. The Zapotec were participants in many general Mesoamerican cultural institutions such as the ball game, ceremonial bloodletting, human and animal sacrifice, formal religious art, a hieroglyphic writing system, and the 260-day calendar. Zapotec script is incompletely deciphered.
The origins of Zapotec society can be seen at the Valley of Oaxaca site of San José Mogote. By 1500 BCE, small farming hamlets were ubiquitous, but San José Mogote emerged as a unique settlement, as evidenced by a nonresidential public building and by social stratification within the community. Evidence suggests that coercion may have been involved in the rising importance of San José Mogote. By 500 BCE, the mountaintop settlement of Monte Albán had been founded, and San José Mogote ceased to grow. Zapotec society expanded rapidly in social, political, and economic complexity throughout the succeeding centuries.
Like most Mesoamerican civilizations, the Zapotec were a highly stratified society. Divine kings topped the social hierarchy, followed by lesser hereditary nobility and priests; crafts workers occupied an intermediate position. Maize, beans, and squash farmers formed the bulk of the population and were spread throughout the valley, practicing irrigation agriculture. Tribute was paid to the Zapotec kings. Professional warriors controlled Zapotec society and expanded its borders to capture new territory.
The Zapotec portrayed their military conquests on stone slabs at Monte Albán. Conquest slabs depict some thirty specific places that were conquered by Monte Albán from around 300 to 500 CE. Another set of carved tablets, of a type known as Danzantes, are most commonly interpreted as tortured and slain captives, also attesting the militaristic nature of Zapotec society.
The Zapotec kings had a poorly understood political relationship with Teotihuacán, a large and powerful kingdom in central Mexico. As depicted on stone monuments at Monte Albán, Teotihuacán kings paid official visits to the Zapotec kings. There is also a residential area of Teotihuacán known as the Oaxaca Barrio. It appears that Zapotec people lived there but retained their identity over hundreds of years—they continued to bury their dead in traditional Zapotec customs and make their pottery in traditional styles. The Zapotec do not appear to have been ambassadors to Teotihuacán, as their dwellings are modest and are far removed from the central precincts.
For a variety of reasons, Monte Albán declined in power, and by 900 CE, its population was dispersed throughout the valley. A series of small, independent kingdoms emerged to replace the centralized power of Monte Albán. Beginning in the late 1400s, most Zapotec kingdoms successively fell to the expanding Aztecs. Less than twenty-five years later, the Zapotec kingdoms again fell prey to the Spanish. In the twenty-first century, there are an estimated 472,000 speakers of the Zapotec language.
Bibliography
Holle, Bueno, and Juan José. Information Structure in Isthmus Zapotec Narrative and Conversation. Language Science Press, 2019.
Marcus, Joyce. Zapotec Monuments and Political History. University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology, 2020.
"Padziuxh! (Welcome!)." Zapotec Language Project, zapotec.ucsc.edu. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.
Schmal, John. "The Mixtecs and Zapotecs: Two Enduring Cultures of Oaxaca." Indigenous Mexico, www.indigenousmexico.org/articles/the-mixtecs-and-zapotecs-two-enduring-cultures-of-oaxaca. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.
Tavárez, David Eduardo. Rethinking Zapotec Time: Cosmology, Ritual, and Resistance in Colonial Mexico. U of Texas P, 2022.
"Zapotec of La Paz Village." Peaceful Societies, UNC Greensboro, peacefulsocieties.uncg.edu/societies/zapotec. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.
"The Zapotec Stewards of the Forest." World Wide Fund, 21 Oct. 2021, wwf.panda.org/wwf‗news/?4057441/The-Zapotec-Stewards-of-the-Forest. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.