Background

Several thousand years ago, small nomadic bands wandered the region of Oaxaca living a hunter/gatherer existance. These were the ancestors of the Zapotec indians.

With the discovery of basic farming techniques, these nomads began to settle in small communities, forming the roots of the Zapotec nation. As people and knowledge started to centralize, the Zapotecs also turned their efforts towards academic endeavors, creating their own writing system and religious and solar calendars.

Around 500 BC, the villages in the region banded together to create a central capital. A mountain top was chosen with a clear view of each of the surrounding three valleys. First taking on the gargantuan task of leveling off the top of the mountain, the Zapotecs built a ceremonial center which would eventually hold temples, an observatory, and a ball court. This was Monte Albán.

On the surrounding mountainsides, a vibrant community sprang to life. By 200 BC it had grown to 15,000, and by 450 AD it had reached a peak of 25,000, spreading across Monte Albán's terraced slopes.

This was the center of a Zapotec empire that would span much of today’s modern day Mexico.

Around 700 AD, for reasons not completely known, the people of Monte Albán began to drift away, settling in villages throughout the valley. Some theorize that once-dangerous external threats had ceased to exist. Others suggest that the city outgrew the agricultural ability of the surrounding land.

Whatever the reason, the loss of its central source of power lead to the end of the Zapotec empire’s supremacy. By 900 AD the Mixtecs had replaced them as the region’s power. Several hundred years later, it was the Aztecs who were consolidating power over the Zapotecs.

But the event that would have the most impact on the lives of the Zapotec indians was the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500’s.

As was their practice throughout their conquests, the Spanish set about converting the Zapotecs to Christianity soon after their arrival. The Zapotecs, rather than abandoning their own religion in favor of Christianity, simply combined them. Some elements of that combination exist even today.

Cocijo, Zapotec Rain God

The arrival of the Spanish was devastating to the Zapotecs. During the colonization period of the 1500’s and 1600’s, the population plummeted from 450,000 to 35,000, mostly due to diseases such as smallpox, the plague and measles. There were times when these diseases killed several people a day in Teotitlán alone.

From those who remained among the living, the Spanish required a tribute. The people of Teotitlán del Valle paid a tribute in cotton cloth. The Spanish also instituted a system of forced labor called "repartimiento," effectively making the indians slaves. 

The Zapotec of the Sierra Juarez, as countrymen of Benito Juarez, were very much involved in the reform movement of 1860, some in defense of liberal ideas, while others interested in conserving church traditions. They were also involved in the Mexican Revolution forming the first textile and mining labor unions. 

Beggining in 1872, there was a revival in the exploitation of gold and silver in the region that attracted mestizos and accelerated the process of language replacement. Between 1900 and 1940, the mining frontier in the District of Ixtlan and other communities expanded rapidly and Spanish become the language of instruction for the indigenous young. Mining brought wealth to some of the native people, but it caused destruction of the natural environment by the removal of forests and contamination of rivers with toxic wastes. Since the end of the 19th century the cultivation of coffee brought further capitalization to the Zapotec and mestizo communities. 
Today, The Zapotecs are one of Mexico's largest indigenous group of people, with their own language and distinct culture. The Zapotecs also retain much of their traditional culture, not least through crafts such as weaving and pottery. Many are among the poorest of Mexico's citizens.

The primary sources of income for the Zapotecs are farming and various crafts, such as weaving or pottery.

Resources: 

Rosengren, Curt
     N.d. Artisans in Focus, Zapotec History. Electronic document,
          http://www.rosengren.net/artisansinfocus/zapotechistory.htm, accessed May 27.
Mexico Indigena
      N.d. Indigenous Zapotec People in Mexico. Electronic Document,
           http://web.ku.edu/~mexind/ags_indigenouszapotecpeople.htm, accessed May
           24. 

Published by: Beatriz Padilla