Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents Summary for Volumes 1, 2 and 3
- Contents
- Volume 1 Maps
- Volume 2 Maps
- Volume 3 Maps
- About the Contributors
- Volume 1
- Volume 2
- V. East Asia
- VI. The Americas
- 2.13 The Americas: DNA
- 2.14 Initial Peopling of the Americas: Context, Findings, and Issues
- 2.15 Paleoindian and Archaic Periods in North America
- 2.16 The Paleoindian and Archaic of Central and South America
- 2.17 The Archaic and Formative Periods of Mesoamerica
- 2.18 Agricultural Origins and Social Implications in South America
- 2.19 The Basin of Mexico
- 2.20 The Olmec, 1800–400 bce
- 2.21 Oaxaca
- 2.22 The Origins and Development of Lowland Maya Civilisation
- 2.23 Early Coastal South America
- 2.24 The Development of Early Peruvian Civilisation (2600–300 bce)
- 2.25 Styles and Identities in the Central Andes: The Early Intermediate Period and Middle Horizon
- 2.26 The Late Intermediate Period and Late Horizon
- 2.27 Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela
- 2.28 Prehistory of Amazonia
- 2.29 Argentina and Chile
- 2.30 The Caribbean Islands
- 2.31 The Southwestern Region of North America
- 2.32 The Pacific Coast of North America
- 2.33 The Great Plains and Mississippi Valley
- 2.34 Eastern Atlantic Coast
- 2.35 Northern North America
- 2.36 The Americas: Languages
- Volume 3
- Index
- References
2.21 - Oaxaca
from VI. - The Americas
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2014
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents Summary for Volumes 1, 2 and 3
- Contents
- Volume 1 Maps
- Volume 2 Maps
- Volume 3 Maps
- About the Contributors
- Volume 1
- Volume 2
- V. East Asia
- VI. The Americas
- 2.13 The Americas: DNA
- 2.14 Initial Peopling of the Americas: Context, Findings, and Issues
- 2.15 Paleoindian and Archaic Periods in North America
- 2.16 The Paleoindian and Archaic of Central and South America
- 2.17 The Archaic and Formative Periods of Mesoamerica
- 2.18 Agricultural Origins and Social Implications in South America
- 2.19 The Basin of Mexico
- 2.20 The Olmec, 1800–400 bce
- 2.21 Oaxaca
- 2.22 The Origins and Development of Lowland Maya Civilisation
- 2.23 Early Coastal South America
- 2.24 The Development of Early Peruvian Civilisation (2600–300 bce)
- 2.25 Styles and Identities in the Central Andes: The Early Intermediate Period and Middle Horizon
- 2.26 The Late Intermediate Period and Late Horizon
- 2.27 Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela
- 2.28 Prehistory of Amazonia
- 2.29 Argentina and Chile
- 2.30 The Caribbean Islands
- 2.31 The Southwestern Region of North America
- 2.32 The Pacific Coast of North America
- 2.33 The Great Plains and Mississippi Valley
- 2.34 Eastern Atlantic Coast
- 2.35 Northern North America
- 2.36 The Americas: Languages
- Volume 3
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
“God has taken pains in distinguishing this country from the others of the world in two things: in mountains and languages” (Ajofrín 1936: 23). This observation comes from the diary of Fray Francisco de Ajofrín, who passed through Oaxaca in 1766 (cited in Kowalewski et al. 1989: 6). We might make the same observation today. Oaxaca’s mountains, and the linguistic and cultural diversity sheltered within them, give the region its distinctive character and shaped its development from Paleo-Indian times to the present. Ajofrín encountered speakers of Mixtec and Zapotec, the two majority ethno-linguistic groups with more than half a million members still living in Oaxaca. Their ancestors spoke versions of Proto-Otomanguean, among the oldest language families in Mexico, and built its first cities; understanding the divergent evolution of the Otomanguean peoples (Chatino, Cuicatec, Mixtec, Trique, Zapotec, etc.) is the essence of Oaxaca archaeology (Flannery & Marcus 1983).
Oaxaca corresponds to an archaeological and ethnographic culture area (Bernal 1965), and was for most Prehispanic periods a distinct zone within Mesoamerica (Paddock 1966). This culture area was dominated by the native Mixtec and Zapotec, whose core regions in the Mixteca Alta and Oaxaca Valley are the best known among Oaxaca’s several archaeological regions (Map 2.21.1). Monte Albán was the Prehispanic focal point; it is no coincidence that the site was located in the largest valley near the geographic centre of Oaxaca. Nonetheless, Oaxaca’s many ethnolinguistic/archaeological regions exhibited substantial internal diversity.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge World Prehistory , pp. 1026 - 1042Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014
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