March01_2010

Botanical Glossary - Home - References Cited

The civic-ceremonial center of the Monte Albán site is situated atop an artificially-levelled ridge, which with an elevation of about 1,940 m (6,400 ft) above mean sea level rises some 400 m (1,300 ft) from the valley floor. In addition to the aforementioned monumental core, the site is characterized by several hundred artificial terraces and a dozen clusters of mounded architecture covering the entire ridgeline and surrounding flanks (Blanton 1978). The archaeological ruins on the nearby Atzompa and El Gallo hills to the north are traditionally considered to be an integral part of the ancient city as well.

Photos - Figures of warriors or game players in many of the Danzante Temple Stone Carvings. Some of the stones seem to have long forgotten symbols of family lineage depicted somewhat like the Native North American Indian Totems. Montel Alban at the Temple of Danzantes in the Main Plaza on the southwest side of the main civic-ceremonial and elite-residential structures.

A different type of carved stones is found on the nearby Building J in the center of the Main Plaza, a building characterized by an unusual arrow-like shape and an orientation that differs from most other structures at the site. Inserted within the building walls are over 40 large carved slabs dating to Monte Albán II and depicting place-names, occasionally accompanied by additional writing and in many cases characterized by upside-down heads. Alfonso Caso was the first to identify these stones as "conquest slabs", likely listing places the Monte Albán elites claimed to have conquered and/or controlled. Some of the places listed on Building J slabs have been tentatively identified, and in one case (the Cañada de Cuicatlán region in northern Oaxaca) Zapotec conquest has been confirmed through archaeological survey and excavations (Redmond 1983; Spencer 1982).

Photos - L-R - An intact bowl-like container in the Main Plaza near Building H.

A support Column of the Temple of Danzantes showing interesting relief carvings.

Standing on the steps that lead up to the North Platform, looking to the southwest. The buildings you see in the background are next to and to the south of the Ball Court.

Click here for more photos of Monte Alban in Oaxaca Mexico for this day.