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Oaxaca’s San José Del Mogote

February 28, 2023 0

Even After 3,500 Years, San José Del Mogote Never Ceases To Amaze

A contemporary of several of the Olmecs’ most ancient settlements is the Zapotec ceremonial center of San José del Mogote. Founded around 1500 BCE, San José del Mogote is notable not only for its sheer antiquity but also for the size of its temples and inscriptions.

During the last half of the 1960s, research teams combed the region surrounding the highlands of Oaxaca. They discovered the remains of a proto-Zapotec civilization dating all the way back to the 9th millennium BCE, roughly 11,000 years ago. It is generally accepted that these proto-Zapotecs came into communication with the archaic Olmec, and perhaps even the Maya of the Peten. In just a few generations, they spread ideas and technologies that would revolutionize the region.

For example, at San José del Mogote, we find the earliest evidence of Zapotec writing, or to be more specific, a glyph believed to signify “earthquake.” Artistic depictions of human figures at San José del Mogote also share a strong resemblance to much later renderings founds at Monte Albán, making it feasible to believe that this is where this style was first developed.

Today the remains of San José del Mogote lay inside a small town of the same name on the outskirts of Oaxca’s capital city. Structures can be found along paved and dirt roads, as well as in backyards and nearby fields.

During a recent visit to the site, a team of archaeologists working west of San José del Mogote’s largest structure appeared to be excavating a large duct. The archaeologists told me they were not at liberty to talk about what they were working on, but with a nudge and a wink, said, “this is going to be a rather big deal.”