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Zapotec

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(zä'pӘtĕk, sä'–), indigenous people of Mexico, primarily in S Oaxaca and on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Little is known of the origin of the Zapotec. Unlike most native peoples of Middle America, they had no traditions or legends of migration, but believed themselves to have been born directly from rocks, trees, and jaguars. The early Zapotec were a sedentary, agricultural, city-dwelling people who worshiped a pantheon of gods headed by the rain god, Cosijo—represented by a fertility symbol combining the earth-jaguar and sky-serpent symbols common in Middle American cultures. A priestly hierarchy regulated religious rites, which sometimes included human sacrifice. The Zapotec worshiped their ancestors and, believing in a paradisaical underworld, stressed the cult of the dead. They had a great religious center at Mitla and a magnificent city at Monte Albán , where a highly developed civilization flourished possibly more than 2,000 years ago. In art, architecture, hieroglyphics, …
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Full text Article ZAPOTEC

From Cassell's Peoples, Nations and Cultures Full text Article The Americas
A Native Central American nation of southern Mexico, who called themselves Vinizza, meaning ‘cloud people’. Sedentary farmers, hunters and gatherers, they spoke an Oto-Manguan language. By about 500 BC they had established a great city at Monte Albän and began to create an empire. A decline began…
| 154 words
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Full text Article Zapotec

From Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Men and Women in the World's Cultures
ALTERNATIVE NAMES In Spanish the Zapotec language is called Zapoteco and those who speak it Zapotecos. In native terms, the name for Zapotec varies slightly depending on which branch of Zapotec is being referred to. Linguists have documented at least four different branches of Zapotec. In the…
| 6,997 words
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Full text Article Zapotec

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(zä'pӘtĕk, sä'–), indigenous people of Mexico, primarily in S Oaxaca and on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Little is known of the origin of the Zapotec. Unlike most native peoples of Middle America, they had no traditions or legends of migration, but believed themselves to have been born directly from…
| 355 words
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Full text Article Zapotec

From Latin American History and Culture: Encyclopedia of Pre-Colonial Latin America (Prehistory to 1550s)
The term Zapotec refers to a linguistic and ethnic group who designate themselves as the Benizaa, or “people of the cloud.” Located in central and southern Oaxaca, Mexico, the Zapotecs occupy four distinct ecological zones—valley, highland, isthmus, and the Miahuatlán region—and speak no fewer than…
| 592 words
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Full text Article Zapotec Empire

From Encyclopedia of Empire
Archaeology imperialism and conquest Mesoamerica war Archaeological and ethnohistoric evidence from Oaxaca, Mexico, suggests that Zapotec-speaking peoples may have formed small empires during the pre-Hispanic era. Archaeologists have proposed a Zapotec Empire centered on the Late Formative period…
| 1,142 words
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The Zapotec and Mixtec were groups of Mesoamerican people who inhabited land at different times in the valley of Oaxaca in Mexico. This area lay south of today's Mexico City on the west coast of the country and was rich in natural and cultural resources. Monte Albán was one of the first cities in…
| 1,355 words
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Full text Article Zapotec

From The Macquarie Dictionary
| 39 words
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Full text Article Zapotec

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
| 82 words
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Full text Article Zapotec

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
| 73 words
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Full text Article Zapotec

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
| 90 words
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