ZAPOTECAS: location and economy

The Zapotecs They were one of the most interesting Mesoamerican cultures, but at the same time one of the most unknown, since its assimilation to other peoples and its smaller number of sources have made it a people less studied than others. To talk about this civilization and understand its importance, in this lesson from a Teacher we must talk about the location of the Zapotecs and economy.

Index

1. What was the Zapotec culture?
2. Zapotec economy
3. Location of the Zapotecs

The Zapotec civilization It was one of the main pre-Columbian cultures, being those that inhabited the cultural zone of Mesoamerican before the arrival of the European colonizers; the Zapotecs inhabited the Valley of Oaxaca, the area with the greatest presence.

Its chronological presence usually varies depending on many factors, but it is often spoken 2,500 years ago or about 800 BC. C.

If a word is linked to the Zapotecs, it is survival, being able to remain for years in a Mesoamerican area that was influenced by civilizations as powerful as the

Characteristics of the Zapotec culture

To know the Zapotecs we must list some of their main features. They are as follows:

• Nature was the center of their culture and religion, relating elements of all kinds with natural events.
• Like many other Mesoamerican peoples, the Zapotecs carried out human sacrifices to keep the gods happy.
• Were very common funeral practices and the rites after death, making vessels to decorate graves.
• They were polytheists, so their religion had a huge number of gods.
• It was a town with many characteristics from the olmec, especially in terms of his artistic system.
• The great cultural plurality of the Zapotecs made them possess various languages, it is said that even more than 10.
• Symbols and hieroglyphs they were the base system of his writing, being very similar to the one we find in the Mayan world.

A basic element in any society is the economy, being largely what makes a nation one way or another, and therefore it is essential to speak on the main economic elements of the Zapotecs to understand the importance of this culture and his later influence.

The base of the Zapotec economy was agriculture, hunting and fishing, being very common that the Mesoamerican peoples based their entire economic system on these three factors. The economic activity of the Zapotecs was based on produce what is necessary to survive, being very strange that they had a surplus and traded with it, since their economy was mostly subsistence.

Over time, the Zapotecs were managing to improve in many aspects, achieving production improvements and better weapons and tools for hunting and fishing, thereby achieving achieve surpluses. Already in recent years they managed to obtain enough surplus to trade with other towns.

We must bear in mind that the Agriculture, main economic sector of the Zapotecs, had a mythological value, since it was common to perform sacrifices and rituals to increase the rain, or stop meteorological events, in order to improve the crops.

The Zapotecs also carried out a series of economic activities related to the handmade products, being mainly the creation of ceramics and the production of textile products. The idea was that these products would serve as a source of trade with other peoples, serving at the same time to earn money and to bring relationships with other Mesoamerican peoples.

To continue this lesson on Zapotecs, we must talk about where the Zapotecs were, being very interesting to talk about the place they lived to understand its area of ​​expansion and the area where its influence was greatest.

The basic zone of the Zapotecs was the valley of Oaxaca, being only about two hundred kilometers from what is Mexico City. This was the area that we related to the Zapotecs, being the place where they had the greatest presence and importance and where what would be their center and capital was placed.

The first of its capitals and the longest was the Monte Alban, near the city of Oaxaca, but with a height that made life easier, causing it to be in the center of three large valleys and thus allowing enormous ease when it comes to seeing possible attacks. The shape with heights of the area allowed for unevenness, being very effective for the statues and pyramids that would be made over the years.

With the expansion achieved over the years, the Zapotecs divided into three large groups, those of the valley being the main ones and the other two called the of the mountains and those of the south. All these areas were the result of conquest, but generally they were not armed, but only assimilations caused by the greater influence and population of the Zapotecs.

In the 10th century, the capital was no longer located on Monte Albán, passing to the city ​​of Mitla in the Valley of Oaxaca. We do not know with certainty the reasons that the Zapotecs left Monte Albán and will go to Mitla, but most of the sources speak about a possible economic collapse in the region.

If you want to read more articles similar to Zapotec: location and economy, we recommend that you enter our category of History.

• Schrader, M. (2004). Introduction to the Zapotec language and culture (Vol. 7). University of Valencia.
• Beyer, F., & Federico, B. W. (1985). When the dialogue became a monologue: Monte Alban and / or the Valley of Oaxaca. In Annals of Anthropology (Vol. 22, No. 1).
• López Cabello, M. (2019). Self-sufficiency as a new dimension to the food security approach, a contribution of the Zapotec peasant economy (Doctoral dissertation).