Fig. 53. Bar and Dot Numerals combined with Hieroglyphs on Zapotecan Monuments.
Monte Alban and Mitla stand in strong contrast to each other, the first crowning a mountain ridge, the second occupying a valley site. Monte Alban has no buildings intact, but shows a vast assemblage of enormous pyramids and platforms. Mitla has only one small pyramid, but boasts a series of finely preserved temples on low platform bases. In Monte Alban we find monolithic monuments comparable to the stelæ of the Mayas, and carrying hieroglyphic inscriptions: also pottery figurines and jade amulets in a style which follows rather closely the models developed in the early cities of the humid lowlands. At Mitla there are none of these things: instead, the architectural decoration shows a most interesting use of textile designs treated in a mosaic of cut stones. It is apparent then that a long record of high culture is to be found in the Zapotecan field.
[Plate XXVIII. Zapotecan Art:]
Incense Burners.
Funerary Vases of Portrait Type.
Cruciform Tomb with Geometric Decoration.