Zapotec
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The Zapotec are an indigenous people of Mexico. Their language family, also called Zapotec, consists of more than fifteen languages.
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Location
The Zapotec people are centered in Oaxaca, to the south of central Mexico. In Pre-Columbian times they were one of the major Mesoamerican civilizations. Archeological evidence shows their culture goes back some 2500 years. They left archaelogical evidence at the earlier and impressive ancient city of Monte Albán; in the form of buildings, ball courts, magnificent tombs and grave goods including finely worked gold jewelry. Monte Albán was the first major city in the western hemisphere and the center of a Zapotec State that dominated much of what we know of as the current state of Oaxaca.
Technology
The Zapotecs developed a calendar and a logophonetic system of writing that used a separate glyph to represent each of the syllables of the language. This writing system is considered to be the basis of the other Mesoamerican writing systems developed by the Maya, Mixtec, and Aztec civilizations. At the present time, there is some debate as to whether or not Olmec symbols dated to 650 BC are actually a form of writing preceding the oldest Zapotec writing dated to about 500 BC. [1]
In the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, there were Zapotec and Mixtec artisans who fashioned jewelry for the Aztec Tlatoanis, including Motecuhzoma II. Relations with central Mexico go back much further however, as attested by the archeological remains of a Zapotec neighborhood within Teotihuacan and a Teotihuacan style "guest house" in Monte Albán. Other important Pre-Columbian Zapotec sites include Lambityeco, Dainzu, Mitla, Yagul, San Jose Mogote, and Zaachila.
Religion
They had an elaborate religious system, and human sacrifices may have been offered. They were likely polytheistic. Principal deities included the rain god Cocijo, the equivalent of Tlaloc of the Aztecs.
Mexican conquest
At the time of the conquest of Mexico they had only been partially conquered by the Mexicas ("Aztecs"), the king being forced to flee to rule from another city. They were defeated by the Spanish only after several campaigns between 1522 and 1527, not submitting finally until 1551. They were a sedentary culture and well-advanced in civilization, living in large villages and towns, in houses constructed with stone and mortar. They recorded the principal events in their history by means of hieroglyphics, and in warfare they made use of a cotton armour. The well-known ruins of Mitla have been attributed to them and were claimed to be the tombs of their ancestors.
The Zapotec today
There are approximately 300,000 to 400,000 Zapotec people living in Mexico today. Many of them still speak only their native language. Though they are now largely Catholics, some of their ancient beliefs and practices, such as the burial of the dead with money, still survive. The first missionaries among the Zapotecs were Bartolomé de Olmeda, a Mercedarian, and Juan Díaz, a secular priest, who was martyred by the natives in Quechula near Tepeaca for having "overthrown their idols".
The most famous Zapotec person in modern times was Benito Juárez, generally regarded as Mexico's greatest President.
Many people of Zapotec ancestry have emigrated to the United States over several decades, and they maintain their own social organizations in the Los Angeles, California area and Central Valley.
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition{{#if:{{{article|}}}| article {{#if:{{{url|}}}|[{{{url|}}}}} "{{{article}}}"{{#if:{{{url|}}}|]}}{{#if:{{{author|}}}| by {{{author}}}}}}}, a publication now in the public domain.
External links
- The Zapotecs
- Zapotec Culture (in English and Spanish)
- Zapotec Language (including variants, in English and Spanish)ca:Zapoteca
da:Zapoteker de:Zapoteken es:Zapotecas fa:زاپوتک fr:Zapotèques hr:Zapotec nl:Zapoteken pl:Zapotekowie pt:Zapoteca