Blog #7:Monte Alban

‘Monte Alban’

 

Gazing out to the surrounding temples, burial mounds, and stone observatories, Monte Alban is alluring. One theory for the development of Monte Alban is as a governing and religious center for the many smaller settlements in the Oaxaca Valley. There is also evidence that much of this centralization did not take place voluntarily; the many carved stone figures referred to as "Los Danzantes," carved during the pre-Hispanic period, are often interpreted as a record of the conquest by Monte Alban of the smaller communities of the Central Valleys, the names of which appear as glyphs on these figures. The glyphs is something I will discuss later in this post.

(Note: Los Danzantes is also the site of the restaurant of the alleged poisoning of Miguel Angel Ramirez. a.k.a. Me.)

Moving on…though Monte Alban collapsed, the Zapotec culture remains just as distinctive today. Religious worship at Monte Alban was based on ancestor worship and a pantheon of gods. I found two things incredibly exciting and one was the “ball court”.

The Ball Court is located to the left of the entrance to the Great Plaza, and has the defining characteristics of ball courts in this region. This court is marked by two structures at the sides of the rectangular base, with slanting walls. A sculpture representing a grasshopper covers most of the western side. The platform located on the western side contains a staircase flanked by two obelisks, and you can see remnants of the stucco on the floor and walls through the court, as well as the entire site of the pre-Hispanic city.

One of the pictures I have attached to this post, is that of a glyph. The guide who gave several theories as to of the significance of what was being depicted. At first I thought it was a woman, as there is a small head within the stomach with feet descending downward as a “breach birth”, but the figure lacks distinctive breasts, the face looks as if in pain and the shoulders are pronounced with masculine feature. The theory that the guide summarized was that of a Yale archaeologist. The professor from Yale, stated that it ws actually a male of elite class or rank. That it lacked breasts was a given sign to the sex, but the head in the stomach was a God’s face, and that the feet were “decapitated”, showing signs of a loss of limb, or castration.

In essence, it was the depiction of sacrifice or death of a ruling member of the city. The guide hinted this to the Spanish conquest. J. Chasteen explains in Born in Blood and Fire, that The Spaniards brought advanced weapons, rode horses that were at the time foreign to Mexico, and created strategic plans to take advantage of the Zapotecs.  Their plan was based on “Aztec prophecies that foretold the coming of Quetzalcoatl, a white-skinned deity,” (pg. 49). The site of Monte Alban is a compelling, and intimidating sight. What is even more captivating is that it is only five percent of what the city actually is, or was. I hope I live to see at least half of the city uncovered, I can only imagine its depth.

- Miguel Ramirez Jr.