Monte Albán

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On top of a mountain just outside the city are the ruins of a Zapotec temple complex.




This was a tomb near a residence, which was nearby the temple areas.





They believe the city was founded around 500 bce. At it's height, it had about 17,000 people living in the area. It was largely abandoned by 1000 ce.








They had found a lot of these carven stones. Most of them were moved indoors to the museum, but they made reproductions like these, to see out on the grounds.


Any place where you can see the stone was excavated, and in most cases, rebuilt/restored. The part that is covered with weeds is probably what it looked like when it was (re)discovered.











It was hot and sunny that day. We were there about an hour and a half an I got a little sunburned. See the guy in the green and white Micky Mouse sweater? He was smart - he wore a hat with a wide brim.




This one is a reproduction. It looks very realistic!


These two are real. The ones behind are fake - the grey and the orange ones are quite obviously so.






The ball court.


Workers near the ball court.






Almost all of the pyramids were blocked off (you can see the little fenceposts). There is someone on the steps, who is trimming weeds.




Taken from the plane on the way out.


This is Aztompa, more ruins on a neighboring hilltop. It is currently closed to the public.

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