The Lost Zapotec: Vibrant Mesoamerican Civilization of The Cloud People mrreese - Ancient Origins
go to original December 5, 2014

Mesoamerican sculpture, said to be a Bat God of the Zapotec religion. (Wikipedia)

In the Valley of Oaxaca, located in the Southern highlands of Mesoamerica, an indigenous, pre-Columbian civilization, known as the Zapotec civilization or the “Cloud People”, flourished around 2,500 years ago. They left behind impressive ruins and provided a lasting influence to the many cultures that superseded them.

During the Monte Alban 1 phase (400–100 B.C.), the Zapotec civilization began to form in the Oaxaca Valley. They were the largest indigenous group in Oaxaca, with populations reaching approximately 350,000 at their height. Members of the Zapotec civilization created and developed a powerful state system that went through periods of development and decline.  The Zapotecs can be divided into three distinct groups - the Valley Zapotec (in the Valley of Oaxaca), the Sierra Zapotec (to the north), and the Southern Zapotec (in the south and east, near the Isthmus of Tehuantepec). The peoples were primarily peasant farmers, living in communities of approximately 5,000.

Altogether, the Zapotecs lived in farming villages, mountain settlements, scattered ranches, rural areas, and two urban centers, Juchitán and Tehuantepec. A typical Zapotec community contained government buildings, a place of worship, school buildings, dry-goods stores, and possibly a health building or clinic. Their houses were made of stone and mortar. The Zapotec were hunters, and were believed to have hunted antelope, deer, jackrabbits, squirrels, horses, fox, rats, and quail. They did their hunting with darts and spears. They strategized hunting by disturbing bushes to drive squirrels and rabbits to a central location.

Read the rest at Ancient Origins

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!