Mitla

Mitla (mēt`lä) [Nahuatl,=abode of the dead], religious center of the Zapotec, near Oaxaca, SW Mexico. Probably built in the 13th cent., the buildings, unlike the pyramidal structures of most Middle American architecture, are low, horizontal masses enclosing the plazas. Wall panels, decorated with hard stucco and intricate mosaics, show more than 20 different patterns of a single motif—the stepped spiral representing the plumed serpent Quetzalcoatl. With its subterranean chambers and passages decorated by fine frescoes, Mitla is thought to represent the highest expression of Zapotec architectural talent, although the mosaics have been attributed to the Mixtec, who conquered Mitla as well as Monte Albán. See pre-Columbian art and architecture.

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Mitla

Village and archaeological site, Oaxaca state, southern Mexico. It lies at an elevation of 4,855 ft (1,480 m), surrounded by the mountains of the Sierra Madre del Sur. It was established as a sacred burial site by the Zapotec, who used it until c. AD 900. The Mixtec moved down from northern Oaxaca sometime between 900 and 1500 and took possession of Mitla. The modern village, composed of thatched huts and adobe houses, serves as a base for the study of the ruins.

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Mitla 

(Zapotec name, Yoopaa), one of the oldest cultural and political centers in southern Mexico, in the modern state of Oaxaca. It arose in the eighth century B.C., but almost nothing is known about the earliest history of the settlement. From the tenth to 14th centuries A.D., Mitla was the center of the Zapotec culture. In the 15th century Mitla was conquered by the Mixtec, who created splendid architectural works—palaces, temples, and underground tombs. A distinctive feature of Mitla building decoration is the use of mosaic panels to adorn inner and outer walls. The flat wooden roofs of the structures were supported by monolithic stone columns. Small narrow bands of frescoes above doorways depicted scenes from Mixtec mythology. Prior to the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, Mitla again became a Zapotec city and the residence of the Zapotec high priest. The city was later partly destroyed by the Spaniards, who built a Catholic church on its site. Study of Mitla’s ruins began in the late 19th century; important work has been done by W. Holmes, E. Seler, A. Caso, and I. Bernal.

REFERENCE

Kinzhalov, R. V. Iskusstvo drevnei Ameriki. Moscow, 1962.