A Photo a Week Challenge: Ancient

I’m a week late posting this challenge named ‘Ancient’ from Nancy Merrill’s weekly challenge A Photo a Week Challenge. See more at https://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2021/10/13/a-photo-a-week-challenge-ancient/ <a href=”http://nancy merrill photography .

Shown are pictures I took in December 2019 during a visit to Oaxaca of Moute Alban, a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Municipality in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.

“Monte Albán was one of the most important cities in Mesoamerica. It was founded in 500 BC on the top of a mountain in the center of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca and functioned as the capital of the Zapotecs from the beginning of our era until 800 AD. At its time of greatest development, Monte Albán had about 35,000 inhabitants, most of whom lived on the terraced slopes of the mountain dedicated to agriculture. 

” The buildings were built by copying the shapes of the hills; terraces were formed on the slopes where the houses of most of the inhabitants were built. Most of the population lived in dwellings made of perishable materials on the slopes of the mountain. Instead, the political, military and religious elites lived inside the ceremonial compound.” (Wikipedia).

If you get to Oaxaca in southern Mexico, Monte Alban is a must visit.