The Ancient Americas

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Societies led by rulers and governments are highly stratified and organized according to a hierarchy of settlements and cities. They also usually have a centralized "state" religion and used military control to defend and expand their resources.

One such society is that of the Zapotec. Zapotec society flourished in the Oaxaca Valley of Mexico for much of the prehispanic era. For centuries during this era, the capital city, located high on a hilltop above the valley, was Monte Albán. Larger than any other Zapotec settlement, Monte Albán was the center of a hierarchy of smaller settlements spread throughout the valley. Its size and position, typical of societies controlled by rulers and governments, suggests to archaeologists that Monte Albán had a degree of political control over much of the valley.

Dr. Gary Feinman and Linda Nicholas
Take an expedition to Monte Albán and the ruins of Zapotec hill towns that dot present-day Oaxaca. Your tour guides will be Dr. Gary Feinman, a Field Museum archaeologist and Curator of Mesoamerican Anthropology, and Linda Nicholas, Adjunct Curator of Mesoamerican Archaeology and Ethnology.

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