Monte Albán

The ruins at Monte Albán, Oaxaca, Mexico.

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Monte Albán, site of ruins of an ancient centre of Zapotec and Mixtec culture, located in what is now Oaxaca state, Mexico. The initial construction at the site has been placed at circa 8th century bce. It contains great plazas, truncated pyramids, a court for playing the ball game tlachtli, underground passageways, and about 170 tombs, the most elaborate yet uncovered in the Americas. The site is located on high ground, probably chosen for its defensibility. The great plaza atop the highest hill is flanked by four platforms; two temples stand on the platform to the south.

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During the first two phases of Monte Albán culture, temples and other structures were built with dressed stone. Zapotec occupation of the site may be dated with certainty by about the 1st century bce. The beginning of the third and most flourishing phase of Monte Albán corresponds to the Classic Period (300–900 ce). The influence of the Teotihuacán architectural style is quite evident; the zenith of the period was reached circa 500. During the ensuing fourth period, about which little is known, Monte Albán lost its political preeminence, and its structures began to decay. In the final phase, which lasted up to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, the Mixtec inhabited the site; they reused some of the old Zapotec tombs, and the two cultures became fused.