Monte Albán

Monte Albán was the capital of the Zapotec culture . It is located about 9 km from Oaxaca city.
The city was first inhabited in about 600 BC, but started after 500 BC. really grow. At its peak, 500-750 AD. it was a city of an estimated 30,000 inhabitants.
Monte Albán is the name the Spanish gave to the isolated, steep mountain on which the city stood. It is not known what its original name was, but glyphs on excavated buildings indicate that the city was probably called Danipaguache, (Holy Mountain). The Aztecs called Monte Albán Ocelotepec, (Hill of the Jaguar).
Monte Albán has grown in the years that the population has grown. The city grew around the central square and administrative centers, the center for the city. The square also grew, as did the buildings around it. The result was that the square became increasingly isolated from the rest of the city.
When the number of inhabitants continued to grow, there was no longer any room for houses in the central part. It was not possible to continue building on the boundaries of the city, for the slopes of the mountain were too steep for that. Houses were then built on terraces, of which more than 2000 have now been excavated.
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