The Epiclassic in Oaxaca (600-900 CE)

Summary

The centuries from 600 to 900 CE were unusually dynamic times in prehispanic Oaxaca. In the Valley of Oaxaca, population increased and elite Zapotec culture flourished as city-states formed at Monte Albán, Cerro de la Campana, Macuilxóchitl, Lambityeco and Jalieza, and then suddenly collapsed. Surprising connections with the Maya area appear such as Fine Orange and Plumbate pottery as well as possible iconographic and architectural elements, some of these channeled through Southern Isthmus sites like Paso Aguascalientes. While the term Epiclassic is not used in Oaxaca archaeology, changes and innovations in Oaxaca are related to characteristics of the Epiclassic elsewhere in Mesoamerica, and presage in part the subsequent Postclassic period.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Reconsidering the "Epic" in the Epiclassic Period of Mesoamerica Part 1: Regional Interactions

Keywords

Spatial Coverage