THE 7 CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ZAPOTECS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Among the contributions of the most outstanding Zapotecs we can mention the development of a type of irrigation of their own, a language and an architectural style, the use of two calendars and the invention of a numbering system.

The Zapotecs were a pre-Columbian indigenous community settled in the highlands of the Valley of Oaxaca, south of Central Mesoamerica, which today includes part of the Mexican states of Guerrero, Puebla, Oaxaca and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

They inhabited from the end of the Preclassic period until the end of the Classic period (from 500 BC to 900 AD) according to the archaeological remains found, but it is speculated that their true date is 2,500 years. They currently constitute the largest indigenous group in the state of Oaxaca.

Like other Mesoamerican cultures, the Zapotecs were strongly influenced by the Olmecs (considered the first Mesoamerican culture), who permeated other aboriginal groups such as the Toltecs, Mayans and Aztecs. Consequently, Central American cultures are strongly connected to each other.

They were farmers, although they also dedicated themselves to pottery, goldsmithing and hunting. As a culture they reached great development in astronomy, mathematics and their own writing; as well as the invention of its own irrigation system for crops and various handicrafts.

Main contributions of the Zapotecs to humanity

The cultural advances of the Zapotecs are not isolated given the strong influence of the Olmecs at the dawn of this civilization.

In fact, "Zapotec cities show a high level of sophistication in architecture, art, writing, and engineering projects." Some of them are:

1- Creation of your own writing system

The Zapotec writing is one of the oldest in Mesoamerica. The Zapotecs developed their own system of signs or symbols (called glyphs).

To the glyphs they attributed a phoneme or sound, something similar to the letters and syllables characteristic of ideographic or logophonic writing. It is believed that they were read in a column, from left to right.

Their linguistic records reflected them on walls and stones, especially in Monte Albán, a sacred place of great political relevance for the time.

It was produced due to “the need to register and manage the collection of the tributes paid by the peoples subject to the political-religious dominance of the founding elites of this city” (Delgado de Cantú, 1993, p. 131).

Thanks to these, we can learn about the life and customs of the region today.

2- Inclusion of corn as an indispensable culinary element in Mexican and Central American cuisine

Corn is perhaps the most visible and daily legacy left by the Zapotecs on Central American tables, especially Mexican ones.

The lower class of the social pyramid of the Zapotecs was made up of the peasants, who planted crops of beans, chili peppers, chickpeas, squash, sweet potato, cocoa, tomato and corn.

3- Use of two own calendars

"The Zapotecs of the Classic period used the same numbering system as the Olmecs and the Mayans, probably due to their influence and also a calendrical system similar to that of these cultures."

They used two calendars: a sacred or ritual one called piye or pije of 260 days, used for the prediction of numerous natural and social phenomena; and the other, the Solar for practical use of 365 days used to measure agricultural cycles.

4- Invention of our own irrigation system

Their advanced knowledge in areas such as astronomy, mathematics and agriculture allowed them to create advanced irrigation systems to irrigate water to all their crops, taking advantage of the increasing and decreasing seasons of nearby water sources.

For example, in Hierve El Agua there are slopes with artificial terraces watered by extensive channels fed by natural springs.

5- Invention of your numbering system

The Zapotecs “used the vigesimal or base-twenty number system (as opposed to the decimal system, base-ten, used in contemporary society). They also used bar and dot numbers and the system of two time tracking calendars.

6- Development of architectural style

Monte Alban or Dani Biaa (in Zapotec), is the architectural jewel par excellence of this culture and whose meaning is “sacred mountain”.

In this place you can see great pyramids, temples and squares with beautiful geometric figures in high relief that are erected until the sun today.

7- Improvement of goldsmithing and pottery

The creativity and ingenuity of the Zapotecs was not only relegated to architecture, but also to pieces of clay such as funeral urns, stone masonry, cloth manufacturing and, to a lesser extent, pieces in gold for religious purposes.

Etymology of the Zapotec name

The term “Zapotec” comes from the word Ben 'Zaa which in the Zapotec language means “inhabitants of the clouds”.

Likewise, the Zapotec name is derived from the Nahuatl word tzapotecalt, which means “people of the Zapote region”, with which the groups of the Central Highlands designated the members of that Oaxacan culture; however, it is probable that the Zapotecs never used the term ”(Delgado de Cantú, 1993, p. 126)

In other words, "Zapotec" is the name that the aborigines of culture did not use to identify themselves but rather as the reference that others gave them.

Location

The Zapotecs settled in the southwestern area of ​​what we know as Mexico today, specifically between the coordinates 15 ° and 19 ° North and from 94 ° to 99 ° West.

There they lived mainly in the Central Valley, the Isthmus of Tehuatepec, the mountains in the north and the southern mountainous area called Sierra de Miahuatlán.

The area offers a warm climate on the coasts of the Isthmus and cold in mountainous areas; consequently, the climatic varieties are warm, semi-warm, temperate, semi-cold, semi-dry and temperate. These climatic conditions stimulate extensive areas of green vegetation and abundant fauna.

Population

The number of Zapotec natives reduced considerably after the Spanish conquest. Experts estimate that from 350,000 inhabitants upon arrival, they dropped to 40,000 or 45,000 by the 1630s.

Fortunately, they managed to regain this demographic density in the mid-1970s in the last century.

References

1. Cartwright, M. (2017, June 15). Zapotec Civilization. Recovered from Ancient History Encyclopedia: ancient.eu.
2. Coe, MD (2017). Achievement and legacy of the Olmec. In MD Coe, Americas's First Civilization (pp. 150-160). New York: Horizon.
3. Delgado de Cantú, GM (1993). Chapter 3. Mesoamerica. Classical period. In GM Delgado de Cantú, History of Mexico. Volume I. The gestation process of a town. (pp. 79-137). Mexico City: Editorial Alhambra Mexicana.
4. Encyclopedia.com. (June 15, 2017). Zapotec facts, information, pictures - Encyclopedia.com articles about Zapotec. Retrieved from Encyclopedia.com.
5. Flores, M., & Xochitl, M. (June 15, 2017). A History of Guelaguetza in Zapotec Communities of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, 16th Century to the Present. Obtained from eScholarship University of California.
6. Gale Group. (2017, June 15). Zapotecs and Monte Albán. Recovered from galegroup.com.
7. History. (June 15, 2017). Oaxaca. Retrieved from history.com.