Definition of Zapotec Culture

In the current Mexican states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Veracruz there was the Zapotec Culture, a set of different linked peoples cultural and politically. Its formation dates back to the first millennium BC and its nerve center was established in the city of Monte Albán.

Main features of the Zapotec Culture

This sedentary Mesoamerican people dedicated themselves to farming to great scale thanks to an advanced irrigation system. The archaeological remains of the city of Monte Albán allow us to know how the Zapotecs lived. Refering to religion, they practiced polytheism and their main divinity was Xipe Totec. They believed in a dimension spirituality of existence and considered that the tracks left by the animals on the ash next to their huts was a message of the symbolic protection of animals over the newly born.

From the social point of view, the Zapotecs lived in a very orderly structure in which the priests and rulers subdued the people, made up of farmers, merchants, and artisans.

Regarding its culture, we must highlight one architecture sophisticated and with decorative elements with war themes or related to sacrifices in honor of their gods. It is known that they had a system of writing hieroglyphic type, they had their own calendar and an elaborate numbering system.

A curious aspect of the Zapotecs is the practice of sports activities linked to religious rituals. They practiced a team ball game and the objective was to put the ball in a stone ring that protruded from a wall.

Zapotec languages, the last vestige of a millenary culture

At present, various Zapotec languages ​​are still spoken and it is estimated that they make up a community of speakers of more than 700,000 people. These indigenous languages ​​represent the last sign of identity live from the ancient Zapotec peoples. Its speakers are aware that it is a language on the way to extinction and, despite this, there are groups that fight to keep it alive.

In our days, the Zapotec languages ​​represent one of the more than 60 indigenous languages ​​spoken in Mexico, such as Chotal, Huave, Mocho, Paipai, Tarasca or Seri. Although indigenous languages ​​have been losing speakers since the Spanish colonization, it should not be forgotten that the Spanish spoken in Mexico incorporates words indigenous (a huarache is a sandal, a tambache is a lump, an asquel is a small ant and the word chocolate comes from chokola-tl, a word that comes from of the language Nahuatl.

Photo: iStock - Hvalur