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Towns and Villlges Around Oaxaca:
14th century Oaxacan city has many unexplored gems
Zaachila
Zaachila is located 15 kilometers south of Oaxaca City, in the center of the town of the same name.
Some historians say the site flourished from 1100 to 1521 A.D. Other scholars, who suggest it was founded in 1399 by the keen Zaachila governor, say the place was some kind of second Tenochtitlan because it also floated on the immense Roaloo lagoon, on which the waters of various rivers met.
The meaning of the word "Zaachila" has not been clearly established, although in Zapotec it is believed to mean "the one who came from the east." In Nahuatl, the word means Teozapotlan, "God of the Zapotec Region."
The full extent of the town has not been established, mostly because many of the mounds, plazas and constructions of the area have been used by local inhabitants to build their own houses.
Nevertheless, since it was the most important Zapotec city of the 14th century, it is believed to have extensive dimensions.
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Compared to other archaeological sites in Oaxaca, Zaachila has not been much explored. Yet it was the last important Zapotec City following the fall of Monte Alban. The Mixtecs occupied the site until the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.
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Today, although barely explored, the site has a group of mounds, including mound B, known as El Cerrito, mound A, on which Roberto Gallegos explored two tombs in 1962 and found artifacts in Mixtec style.
Visitors can enter these two tombs and learn how Zaachila inhabitants used to carefully build them to later bury their dead, according to the individuals' rank.
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Archeological site and church of Zaachila, showing the union and contrasts of two cultures. At the top of Mound A there are two Mixtec tombs decorated with jaguar heads and owls with out-stretched wings. Tomb 2 contained an extraordinary offering of pieces worked in gold, jade and other precious materials.
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Tomb 1 contains a stair, a vestibule, an antechamber and a chamber. Its façade has a slab decorated with designs and frescos in red. Five niches are inside it, two of which are in the antechamber, two in the chamber and one on the north end.
Also inside are seven figures in stucco and distributed in pairs - one in front of the other, on the east and end walls. Two of the figures are night birds believed to be messengers of Mitlantecutli, the God of the Underworld.
Archaeologists believe this tomb was built for an important Mixtec individual who was buried with his personal items, mask. Jewels and clothing.
Tomb 2 is similar to tomb 1 in terms. It, however, does not have figures on its walls, only three niches in the chamber one on the south wall, a second on the north wall and a third one on the west wall.
Both tombs are believed to have been used twice, because bone remains from the first burials were combined and placed in chamber niches when the second burial was carried out.
The mount known as El Cerrito is the tallest and largest in the site. It is the only one noticeable at a distance, located in the most important area of what use to be the Zapotec city capital. It, however, has not been thoroughly explored.
Zaachila is 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of Oaxaca City. It is a 25-minute drive on the Xoxo-Cuilapan road.
Blanca Robleda, The News Staff © Copyright 2001
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Itinerary Suggestions: Visit Zaachila archeological site, the Thursday market, and the open air chapel of Cuilapan. Oaxaca Tours provides private car & driver services to visit archeological sites and villages in the central valleys of Oaxaca.
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