The Zapotec

From the Pre-Classic to the Post-Classic Period in Mesoamerica

A stone sculpture of a seated figure displayed in a museum exhibit.

Discover the Zapotec’s long history in Mesoamerica

The Zapotec are most well-known for the site of Monte Albán in Oaxaca

Introduction to the Zapotecs

Some foundational information about the Zapotecs

Support or vase in the shape of a spine (vertebral column or back bone), Zapotec, Late Preclassic Period, c. 300–250 CE, clay with pigment, from Monte Albán, Oaxaca, Mexico. National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City.

Important terms and concepts

Zapotec

Monte Albán

Lambityeco

ancestor veneration

ceramic

Cocijo

Cocijo mask on a building wearing a headdress wtih feathers
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