Monte Albán's archeological record shows signs of a collective society.
The 2,500-year-old city of Monte Albán sits on a mountain in the middle of the Valley of Oaxaca, a high plain in the mountains of southern Mexico. And according to archaeologists Linda Nicholas and Gary Feinman, both of the Field Museum in Chicago, the city’s founding represents a 1,000-year renaissance in the valley, kicking off an era of explosive population growth, ceremonial buildings, and even the adoption of the tortilla.
What Monte Albán lacked in agricultural opportunities, it might have made up for in cultural cachet. A high standard of living, and lack of despotic rulers, is the best explanation for the region’s explosive growth, as Nicholas and Feinman documented in research published this week inAfter its founding in about 500 BCE, people flocked to the city and to the surrounding valley. “It tripled in size within a couple of centuries,” says Feinman.
Monte Albán seems to have grown for more than a 1,000 years without dynasties or centralized power—or at least, the city never put any effort into glorifying its leaders. Only one statue of a leader exists from the city’s first 400 years, and that person is wearing a mask. “Power was not concentrated in a single individual or family line,” says Feinman.
The Oaxacan city’s decentralized power contrasts with that of the neighboring people, the Maya, says Feinman. There, “you have the rulers, and you can trace their ancestry and their descendents” from written chronicles, he says. Those rulers built the limestone pyramids of the Yucatan rainforest, which held cramped ritual spaces that could fit only a select few.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ancient Mexican city endured for centuries without extremes in wealth and powerLocation, location, location—it's the first rule of real estate. For a long time, it's been widely assumed that being close to resources drives settlement patterns, with cities generally founded near water and fertile land for growing crops. But a new paper by a husband-and-wife archaeological team questions that idea, using the example of an ancient city in what's now southern Mexico. The researchers argue that Monte Albán, the largest city in its region for more than a thousand years, wasn't situated near especially good farmland. But what it did have from the city's foundation was a defendable hilltop location and a more collective form of government that attracted people both to the settlement and its surrounding area.
Read more »
The City’s not dying, it’s thriving, insists San Francisco’s Mayor London Breed - The San Francisco Examiner“Let’s be the national model for reform, for alternatives and for safety,” LondonBreed said. “We can do it all, and we don’t have to choose.”
Read more »
Alamo Heights eyes path to greener buildings with financing toolAfter a public hearing next week, City Council will vote on whether to establish the...
Read more »
Indoor masking at S.F. facilities strongly encouraged despite new rules - The San Francisco ExaminerThe city will still strongly recommend people continue to wear masks, regardless of their vaccination status, as a way to stop the spread of COVID-19 and protect people vulnerable to the virus.
Read more »
Northeast Ohio communities partner with local ministries to help Ukrainian refugees“It’s been overwhelming the response we’ve been getting not only from our city, but sister cities all around us,” said Westlake City Official Rick Grane.
Read more »
Philly Schools Will Make Masks Optional Starting WednesdayPhiladelphia public and Catholic schools will drop its mask requirement on Wednesday, following the city Public Health Department's decision to end a citywide indoor mask mandate.
Read more »