Mexico Mitla

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Mitla
Frumusetea edificiilor face din Mitla unul dintre
cele mai importante situri arheologice. Templele
sunt decorate cu ornamentatii grecas,unice în
tara, în care nu apar figuri umane, animale sau
fiinte mitologice. Mozaicurile elaborate din
piatra cioplita se crede ca l-ar reprezenta pe
Sarpele Cerului, o varianta a omniprezentului
Quetzalcoatl. Asezarea a fost locuita în aceeasi
perioada ca si Monte Albán (de la 500 î.C) iar
zapotecii au început sa construiasca aici cam pe
la anul 200 d.C. Primii spanioli ajunsi aici o
consemneaza ca resedinta a Marelui Preot din
perioada zapoteca. Acesta traia izolat si nu se
arata niciodata poporului, cufundat în studierea
astrologiei pentru a putea dispune organizarea
lucrarilor agricole si a marilor ceremonii
religioase care le însoteau. Temut de toti, el
era ascultat chiar si de guvernator.
Mitla is the second most important archeological
site in the state of Oaxaca, and the most
important of the Zapotec culture. While Monte
Albán was most important as the political center,
Mitla was the main religious center. The name
Mitla is derived from the Nahuatl name Mictlán,
which was the place of the dead or underworld.
However, what makes Mitla unique
among Mesoamerican sites is the elaborate and
intricate mosaic fretwork and geometric designs
that cover tombs, panels, friezes and even entire
walls. These mosaics are made with small, finely
cut and polished stone pieces which have been
fitted together without the use of mortar. No
other site in Mexico has this. The construction
of the stone walls appears to have been the same
for all groups a core of mud and stone covered
with plaster or well-cut trachyte rock

Presenter Notes
Mitla is the second most important archeological
site in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico, and the
most important of the Zapotec culture

The site is located 44 km from the city of Oaxaca
in the upper end of the Tlacolula Valley, one of
the three that form the Central Valleys Region of
the state

The archeological site is within the modern
municipality of San Pablo Villa de Mitla

While Monte Albán was most important as the
political center, Mitla was the main religious
center.

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Presenter Notes
The name Mitla is derived from the Nahuatl name
Mictlán, which was the place of the dead or
underworld. Its Zapotec name is Lyobaa, which
means place of rest.

The name Mictlán was hispanicized to Mitla by the
Spanish.

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Presenter Notes
However, what makes Mitla unique among
Mesoamerican sites is the elaborate and intricate
mosaic fretwork and geometric designs that cover
tombs, panels, friezes and even entire walls.
These mosaics are made with small, finely cut and
polished stone pieces which have been fitted
together without the use of mortar. No other site
in Mexico has this.

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Presenter Notes
Mitla itself was inhabited at least since the
Classic Period (100-650 CE) and perhaps as early
as 900 BCE. It began as a fortified village on
the outer edge of the valley to become the main
religious center for the area. The Mixtecs took
control of the area around 1000 CE although the
area remained populated by the Zapotec. The city
reached its height and largest size between 750
and 1521, with both Zapotec and Mixtec influences
in its architecture during that time. Mitla is
one of the areas which represents Mesoamerican
attitudes towards death, as the most
consequential part of life after birth. It was
built as a gateway between the world of the
living and the world of the dead.

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Presenter Notes
During the early colonial period, some of the
best descriptions of the site come from the
soldiers and missionaries who arrived first in
the valley. One of the first to write formally
about Mitla was Friar Toribio de Benavente
Motolina in the mid 16th century. He states that
the name meant hell. As the site held great
political and religious significance for the
area, most of the buildings suffered destruction,
dismantling and sacking, with a few buildings
spared. Some of the rooms of the site were
inhabited by the Spanish clergy. This destruction
was ordered by Oaxacan Archbishop Albuquerque in
1553. The remains were used as building materials
for churches, including the Church of San Pablo,
which sits on top of part of the ruins. The north
side of the Cathedral of Oaxaca also has design
features from Mitla to symbolize the new
religious order.

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Presenter Notes
In the state of Oaxaca, Mitla is second in
importance as an archeological site only to Monte
Alban. At the beginning of the 20th century, the
government of Porfirio Díaz chose Mitla to be one
of the emblematic symbols of pre-Hispanic Mexico
for Centennial celebrations of Mexicos
Independence. Alfonso Caso, the archaeologist who
excavated Monte Albán also did work at Mitla in
the 1920s and 1930s. Mitla has been the site of
further excavations since the 1980s with
important work done on the North Group as well as
the colonial church at the turn of the century.
For the bicentennial celebrations in 2010, INAH
has been intensifying efforts to conserve the
ancient ruins.

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Presenter Notes
Instead of building a set of pyramids on a hill,
like at Monte Albán, Mitla is a set of
constructions built on the valley floor, and it
lacks the wide and far vistas of Monte Alban. The
architecture is geared more for the comfort of
the residents than for magnificence. The
construction of Mitla as a ceremonial center
began in 850 and was still being expanded when
the Spaniards arrived and destroyed it. The
oldest of the groups is dated to between 450 and
700 CE and shows similar architectural features
as the earlier Monte Alban

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Presenter Notes
It is one of the few sites that originate in the
Classic period. The site represents the most
developed architecture of the Zapotecs and is the
product of the syncretism of Mixtec and Zapotec
design features which reached it height in 1200.
This syncretism can also been seen in the
Catholic churches built over the foundations of
destroyed temples in this area, such as the San
Pedro Church located in the North Group and the
Calvario Chapel, located in the Adobe Group

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Palatul Coloanelor este cel mai bine conservat
edificiu

Presenter Notes
The main distinguishing feature of Mitla is the
intricate mosaic fretwork and geometric designs
that profusely adorn the walls of both the Church
and Columns groups. The geometric patterns called
grecas in Spanish seen on some of the stone walls
and door frames are made from thousands of cut,
polished stones that are fitted together without
mortar. The pieces were set against a stucco
background painted red.

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Se crede ca mozaicurile îl reprezinta pe
Sarpele Cerului

Presenter Notes
The stones are held in place by the weight of the
stones that surround them. Walls, friezes and
tombs are decorated with mosaic fretwork. In some
cases, such as in lintels, these stone tiles
are embedded directly into the stone beam. The
elaborate mosaics are considered to be a type of
Baroque design as the designs are elaborate and
intricate and in some cases cover entire walls.

None of the fretwork designs are repeated exactly
anywhere in the complex. The fretwork here is
unique in all of Mesoamerica.

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Se crede ca mozaicurile îl reprezinta pe Sarpele
Cerului
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Palace building

Presenter Notes
Palace building

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Church of San Pedro On average 500 people per day
visit the site
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Alevriches
Alebrijes (alevriches) are brightly colored
Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical
creatures. Most Oaxacan artisans simply call them
figuras "wooden figures.
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The alebrijes from Oaxaca are beautifully
strange, curious things that are born of the
imagination of Artisans from Arrazola, and their
bodily form carved into copal wood. These Oaxacan
wood carvings are first carved then covered in a
base coat before being decorated with other
colours. Some Alebrijes are decorated with tiny
dots for which the artisans use hypodermic
needles to apply the paint. Although Arrazola is
famous for creating alebrijes they are for sale
everywhere in the centre of Oaxaca and some are
also available to buy in the coastal towns.
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Blue agave (Agave Americana)
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Sankrant Vel, Flame Vine
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Hacienda San Augustin
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Cactus tree, Euphorbia Ingens
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Fotografii Sanda Foisoreanu Sanda
Potrovita Prezentare Sanda Foisoreanu
2010
Peter Kater and Nawang Khechog - The Dance of
Innocents Lakota Lullaby