PICTURED SITES ARE DESCRIBED IN THIS TEXT.
Vantage describes Mexico as a surprisingly complex nation of many cultures, ancient civilizations, and friendly people which we explored ranging from charming Spanish-colonial towns with cobbled plazas and vast complexes of pre-Columbian ruins to sophisticated cities full of culture, baroque architecture and the arts. We learned of the people's traditions through music and dance performances and museum visits.
An index of articles related to this trip can be seen at our home page: http://www.worldisround.com/home/jdtan/index.html
If you have any questions, email them to me at jdtanner@a5.com rather than including them in your remarks at the bottom of the photo page.
Oaxaca (pronounced wa-HA-ka) is at an altitude of 5,000 feet above sea level and is surrouneded by mountain ranges. With a population of 260,000 people, it is the capital of its state.
Mitla, 27 miles southeast of Oaxaca, is a complex of structures begun by the Zapotecs and then taken over by the Mixtecs which expanded and grew in influence as Monte Alban declined. Mitla's archeological site consists of five areas of construction, the oldest dating from 450 to 700 A.D.
Mitla's name comes from the Aztec work "mictlan" which means "place of the dead." Although there are a few underground tombs which can be explored, the Zapotecs and Mixtecs usually buried their dead under the entrance to the structure where the deceased lived.
Mitla's structures are not on a massive scale, but the workmanship is exquisite on the local quarry stone in hues of pink to yellow. The fine stonework is called "greca" because of its resemblance to that of ancient Greeks. Portions of the walls are still painted red, as they would have been when the city existed.
Mitla's San Pablo Church, surrounded by fences of tall cactus, is adjacent to the archaeological site. Next to the church is an open-air crafts market where local craftspeople offer embroidered garments, hand-painted wooden figures, black pottery made without using a pottery wheel and fired in pit-kilns, and an assortment of other colorful crafts.
Monte Alban is six miles west of Oaxaca and considered to be one of Mexico's most spectacular archaeological sites. The city was home to more than 30,000 Zapotecs. Experts estimate only ten per cent of the site has been uncovered. Digs now are sporadic.
Monte Alban is on a flattened mountaintop 5100 feet high overlooking the Oaxaca Valley. It is eastimated the site was leveled about 600 B.C. Most of the buildings were built on a north-south axis. The one exception is the Observatory shaped like an arrow and set at a 45-degree angle. Because it is more closely aligned with the stars than with the Earth's poles, it is believed to have been an observatory.
Experts think in the Ball Court a game using the hips, shouldeders, knees, and elbows wouild have been used to hit a wooden or rubber ball.
The site was abandoned by 1000 A.D., although it is not known if the Zapotec left gradually or quickly. Afterwards, the Mixtecs used Monte Alban as a necropolis of tombs with more than 200 tombs and 300 burial sites having been explored. One tomb has yielded more than 500 Mextec objects made of gold and precious stones.
A small museum at Monte Alban has good exhibits.
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