Mitla (mēt`lä) [Nahuatl,=abode of the dead], religious center of the Zapotec Zapotec (zä`pətĕk, sä`–), indigenous people of Mexico, primarily in S Oaxaca and on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
..... Click the link for more information. , 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 Quetzalcoatl (kĕt'sälkôät`əl)
..... Click the link for more information. . 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 Mixtec (mĭs`tĕk), Native American people of Oaxaca, Puebla, and part of Guerrero, SW Mexico, one of the most important groups in
..... Click the link for more information. , who conquered Mitla as well as Monte Albán Monte Albán (mōn`tā älbän`), ancient city, c.7 mi (11.3 km) from Oaxaca, SW Mexico, capital of the Zapotec .
..... Click the link for more information. . See pre-Columbian art and architecture pre-Columbian art and architecture, works of art and structures created in Central and South America before the arrival of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere.
..... Click the link for more information. .

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.