Monte Albรกn is a large archaeological UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE site in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. The site is located on a low mountainous range rising above the plain in the central section of the Valley of Oaxaca. Located at 17ยฐ02.7833 N 096ยฐ45.9533 W
The partially excavated civic-ceremonial center of the Monte Albรกn site is situated atop an artificially leveled ridge. It has an elevation of about 1,940 m (6,400 ft) above mean sea level and rises some 400 m (1,300 ft) from the valley floor, in an extremely defensible location. In addition to the monumental core, the site is characterized by several hundred artificial terraces, and a dozen clusters of mounded architecture covering the entire ridgeline and surrounding flanks.
The monumental center of Monte Albรกn is the Main Plaza, which measures approximately 300 meters by 200 meters. The site’s main civic-ceremonial and elite-residential structures are located around it or in its immediate vicinity.
It was not until 1931 that large-scale scientific excavations were undertaken, under the direction of Mexican archaeologist Alfonso Caso. ย Over the following eighteen years excavations of large sections within the monumental core of the site revealed Much of what is visible today and is open to the public.
Symmetry was not a major concern for the layout of Monte Albรกn plaza. Although the angles within the plaza are not perfect 90-degree corners, the plaza appears to be a rectangle without actually being so. The structures are not laid out in a symmetrical fashion, as the distances between the structures vary greatly from building to building. Construction methods used for orientation changed as Monte Albรกn expanded. ย Thick walls were often used in construction, as well as sloped sides when constructing tall / larger structures.
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Besides being one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica, Monte Albรกn was important for nearly one thousand years as the pre-eminent Zapotec socio-political and economic center. Founded toward the end of the Middle Formative period at around 500 BC ย Monte Albรกn had become the capital of a large-scale expansionist polity that dominated much of the Oaxacan highlands and interacted with other Mesoamerican regional states. ย The city was largely abandoned after 800 AD. Small-scale reoccupation, opportunistic reuse of earlier structures and tombs, and ritual visitations marked the archaeological history of the site into the Colonial period. |
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Visible from anywhere in the central part of the Valley of Oaxaca, these impressive ruins of Monte Albรกn attracted visitors and explorers throughout the colonial and modern eras. |
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To get there stay at Marina Chahue in Huatulco Mexico and rent a car to visit Oaxaca and stay at any of the local hotels such as the reasonable priced 5 star Victoria Hotel – take an early 30 minute drive up the hillside to get on site early and beat the crowds and daily limits of 400 visitors during Covid
Entry fess in Dec. 2020: ย 80MXD ~ 4 USD pp
It’s a 6 1/2 hour drive via route 175 to get to Oaxaca from Marina Chahue – on the way back take route 190 via Mitla and the Mexcal epicenter of Oaxaca.
Carinthia Crew Jay and Ho’Okipa tagging the Panama Posse
Coming out of the TOMB
Climbing the Eastern Stairs
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[…] Note: “Besides being one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica, Monte Albรกn was important for nearly one thousand years as the pre-eminent Zapotec socio-political and economic center. Founded around 500 BC had become the capital of a large-scale expansionist polity that dominated much of the Oaxacan highlands and interacted with other Mesoamerican regional states. Abandoned after 800 AD. on the PANAMA POSSE MUST SEE LIST “ […]