At Monte Alban there are one or two narrow vaulted chambers in mounds, but on the tops of the mounds the few excavations have disclosed only simple cell-like rooms which probably had flat roofs. Some hints of ancient architectural decoration can be picked up here and there. Figures similar to those modeled in bold relief on the fronts of the cylindrical funeral urns (see [frontispiece]) seem to have been used over doorways, somewhat after the fashion of the Mayan mask panels.
The hieroglyphs that are found on the stelæ of Monte Alban and on stone slabs from other sites, resemble the Mayan hieroglyphs in the use of bar and dot numerals, but the day and month signs have never been identified with either the Mayan or Aztecan system, although almost certainly dealing with the same type of calendar. Lintels with lines of hieroglyphs on the outer edge have been found in burial chambers at Cuilapa and Xoxo. The forms at the former site are clearly and beautifully drawn, while at the latter site they are degenerate and probably merely decorative.
In Zapotecan funerary urns a close connection with Mayan art can easily be demonstrated. The urns are cylindrical vessels concealed behind elaborate figures built up from moulded and modeled pieces. Many of these built-up figures clearly represent human beings while others represent grotesque divinities or human beings wearing the masks of divinities. The purely human types have a formal modeling in high relief, the head usually being out of proportion to the rest of the body. The pose is ordinarily a seated one with the hands resting on the knees or folded over the breast. Details of dress are very clearly shown including capes, girdles, aprons, or skirts and headdresses. Necklaces are often worn with a crossbar pendant to which shells are attached. Headdresses are made of feathers and grotesque faces and are often very elaborate. As for the divine types the jaguar and a long-nosed reptile are the most common. The latter has a human body and may possibly be an adaptation of the Mayan Long-nosed God.
The funerary urns are found in burial mounds called mogotes which contain cell-like burial chambers. The urns are not found within these cells but on the floor in front of them, in a niche over the door, or even on the roof. They are frequently encountered in groups of five and seem never to contain offerings.
Other Zapotecan pottery is mostly made of the same bluish clay used in the urns. This clay is finely adapted to plastic treatment but never carries painted designs. The pottery products include pitchers of beautiful and unusual shapes, dishes with tripod legs modeled into serpent heads, incense burners, bowls, plates, etc. Of the same clay are also made whistles in realistic forms, and moulded figurines. Painted pottery also occurs in forms and designs of rare beauty, but it is much less characteristic of the Zapotecan province than the unpainted ware.
Carved jades of splendid workmanship have been recovered in the Zapotecan region and there is reason to believe that this semi-precious stone was obtained here in the natural state. Many of the pieces are smoothed only on the front, while the back retains its old weathered and stream-worn surface. Beautiful examples of gold work found in this region must be given a late date.
Splendid manuscripts were obtained by the Spaniards in the Zapotecan region, but the pictures of the gods as well as the hieroglyphs show strong Aztecan influences. These will be discussed briefly in a later section. Some accounts have been preserved of the special features of Zapotecan religion which mark them off rather sharply from the Aztecs, however.
The high priests of the Zapotecans were called “Seers” and the ordinary priests were “Guardians of the Gods” and “Sacrificers.” There was a sort of priestly college where the sons of chiefs were trained in the service of the gods. The religious practices included incense burning, sacrificing of birds, and animals, and letting of one’s own blood by piercing the tongue and the ear. Human sacrifice was made on stated occasions and was attended by rites of great solemnity. The Zapotecs never went to the blood excesses that stain the annals of the Aztecs.
Fig. 54. Detail of Wall Construction at Mitla, showing the separately Carved Stones.