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The Central Valleys of Oaxaca, the cradle of Zapotec civilization, are three broad valleys—Etla in the west, Ocotlán in the south and Mitla in the east—that join at an altitude of about 4500 feet above sea level in the center of what today is the state of Oaxaca. They are located about 200 km south of Mexico City.
The Zapotecs call themselves Bën Za, which means “The People.”. For decades it was believed that the exonym Zapotec came from the Nahuatl tzapotēcah (singular tzapotēcatl), which means "inhabitants of the place of sapote".
Zapotec civilization, a historical indigenous pre-Columbian civilization and archaeological culture of central Mexico; Zapotec languages, a group of closely related indigenous Mesoamerican languages
There are historical records from the area dating back as far as the 12th century, but except for the Zapotecs and Mixtecs, there is very few records of the native peoples of the state from the pre-Hispanic era into much of the colonial era. [3] By 500 BC, these valleys were mostly inhabited by the Zapotecs, with the Mixtecs on the eastern side.
Later the public structures on Mound 1 were rebuilt as a residence for a high-ranking family. [6] By 500 BCE, with the emergence of Monte Albán as the area's main city, San José Mogote's 1000 years of dominance ended, and it was relegated to the status of a lesser community that fell under Monte Albán's control. [6]
The Zapotecs were a civilization that thrived in the Oaxaca Valley from the late 6th century BCE until their downfall at the hands of the Spanish conquistadors. The city of Monte Albán was an important religious center for the Zapotecs and served as the capital of the empire from 700 BCE to 700 CE.
The Zapotecs were the earliest to gain dominance over the Central Valleys region. [7] The first major dominion was centered in Monte Albán, which flourished from 500 BCE until 750 CE. [8] At its height, Monte Albán was home to some 25,000 people and was the capital city of the Zapotec nation. [7]
The earliest cities in history were in the ancient Near East, an area covering roughly that of the modern Middle East: its history began in the 4th millennium BC and ended, depending on the interpretation of the term, either with the conquest by the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC or with that by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC.