Commoner Ritual and Ideology in Ancient Mesoamerica

7: Shrines, Offerings, and Postclassic Continuity in Zapotec Religion

Shrines, Offerings, and Postclassic Continuity in Zapotec Religion 185 Introduction One of the most drastic changes in prehispanic Mesoamerica occurred around a.d. 800 with the demographic and political decline of a number of the great Classic period centers: Teotihuacan in Central Mexico; Tikal, Palenque, and many others in the Maya area; and Monte Albán in Oaxaca (Figures 0.1 and 0.2). In the subsequent Early Postclassic period, new centers arose in some regions, such as Tula in Central Mexico and Chichén Itzá in the Maya area. In other regions, notably highland Oaxaca, populations remained relatively low during several centuries, and no large communities appeared until the Late Postclassic. Why a large number of Classic centers collapsed and how the transition to the Postclassic occurred are perennial, unresolved questions for much of Mesoamerica (see Joyce and Weller, Chapter 6). This situation is particularly true in Oaxaca. Classic period Zapotec culture is known from Marcus Winter, robert Markens, cira Martínez López, and aLicia Herrera Muzgo t. C h a p t e r s e v e n Shrines, Offerings, and Postclassic Continuity in Zapotec Religion 185 Marcus Winter, Robert Markens, Cira Martínez López & Alicia Herrera Muzgo T. 186 Monte Albán and other centers, such as Cerro de la Campana, Jalieza, and Lambityeco, whereas Late Postclassic Zapotec culture is well documented at Mitla, Yagul, and Zaachila in the highlands, as well as at Guiengola on the isthmus. When Spanish colonists arrived they found dozens of Zapotec communities flourishing in the Valley of Oaxaca, in the surrounding mountains to the north and south, and in the southern Isthmus of Tehuantepec to the southeast. Today in the state of Oaxaca there are more Zapotecs than any other ethnic or linguistic group. Nevertheless, the Early Postclassic remains an enigmatic period, poorly documented, but crucial for understanding cultural continuity between the great Classic centers and present-day groups. What happened to Classic Zapotec culture and how did it continue after the Classic period? Excavations in the 1990s at Monte Albán and more recently at Macuilx óchitl provide new data on this period of change. Especially notable are deposits of artifacts used in ritual context. Here we describe these discoveries and discuss their implications for continuity and change in Zapotec religion between the Classic and Postclassic. Monte Albán, in the center of the Valley of Oaxaca, was the largest community in the region from 500 b.c. to a.d. 800 and is well documented archaeologically (e.g., Blanton 1978; Winter 1994). Macuilxóchitl, about 25 km east of Monte Albán in the Tlacolula subvalley, was occupied at least from the Rosario phase (700 b.c.) to the present (Figure 7.1). Surface survey (Kowalewski et al. 1989) shows that during the Late Classic, Macuilxóchitl was the second or third largest community in the Valley of Oaxaca, covering several square kilometers, with a population of some 6,000 people (as compared with Monte Albán with an estimated population of 25,000). Residential terraces occur on the slopes of Cerro Danush and more than 150 mounds have been located on the flat alluvial areas along the river south of the hill. The excavated site of Dainzú (Bernal and Oliveros 1988) is an area of early occupation within the Macuilxóchitl site. Chronological divisions of interest to this study are the Late Classic and Postclassic, including the Xoo phase (Late Classic), the Liobaa phase (Early Postclassic), and the Chila phase (Late Postclassic) (Figure 7.2). Xoo phase ceramics have been described in detail by Cira Martínez López and colleagues (2000), while Xoo, Liobaa, and Chila phase ceramics have been chronologically ordered and compared in a recent seriation by Robert Markens (2004). Our recent work at Macuilxóchitl has helped to further clarify differences between Liobaa and Chila phase domestic pottery. Shrines, Offerings, and Postclassic Continuity in Zapotec Religion 187 Prehispanic Mesoamerican Religion Several previous studies of prehispanic Zapotec religion in Oaxaca either start from a general anthropological perspective and try to explain the specific (e.g., Drennan 1976; Flannery and Marcus 1976) or focus on particular artifacts, buildings, or features of religious import, such as temples or offerings, in order to characterize a specific culture (e.g., Gámez Goytia 2002; Herrera Muzgo Torres 2002; Martínez López 2002; Winter 2002). Here we prefer a historical perspective, which we believe...