Glyphs carved in 300
BC depict defeated
leaders of neighboring
villages in death some
researchers have
speculated while others
say the stones called
the Danzantes( the
Dancers)  depict sick
and injured people.
Many stelae have a
glyph that some claim
depict a mutilated
penis, while others
propose this as a
symbol of fertility..
Monte Alban's  Zapotec builders  laid out the city with a north south orientation 1,300 feet above the
River Atoyac and the alluvial valley. Starting in 500 BC, they quarried stone from the hilltop and flattened
the peak to make a broad level plaza. By 300 AD the population had risen to 30,000 people by some
estimates. The city has stone platforms running the length of the quarter mile plaza, tombs primarily on the
eastern and northern slopes, and two ball courts.
Monte Alban Oaxaca, Ruin Site, Archaeological Site In Oaxaca
Mexico  Oaxaca City, Mexico
Monte Alban was
abandoned starting in
750 AD.
The hilltop complex was  
entirely depopulated by
900 AD.
Monte Alban ruin site in Oaxaca
saw its first modern scientific
mapping and excavation in 1930
when Mexican Archaeologist
Alfonso Caso headed a 16 year
excavation.  
Monte Alban Archaeological
Ruin site sprawls over three
peaks with thousands of house
sites and terraced fields still visible
on the hillsides.  The complex of
platforms, plazas and stone
pyramidal structures has a
museum that is also open to the
public.
In 1932,  the Caso excavations
uncovered Tomb 7.  This  trove of
Mixtec art and tomb offerings  
numbered some 500,  much of it
amber, obsidian, turquoise, and lost
wax process gold.  
Other Oaxacan ruin site within 30 miles of Oaxaca City
Monte Alban
Ruin Site in
Oaxaca, Mexico
is one of the
oldest stone
building
complexes in
Mexico.
The ruin site of
Monte Alban has
remnants of
thousands of
terraced house
sites  visible on
the hillsides.
Monte Alban Archaeological Site 500 BC-800 AD
Monte Alban Ruin Site in Oaxaca Mexico is just outside the modern City of Oaxaca. The
preserved colonial historic center offers a mix of accommodations from luxury hotels,
inns, B&Bs,  posada, and hostels.
Jet flights to Oaxaca's modern airport (OAX) put a culinary tour in the city, a ruins tour,
or a hiking and biking tour in the mountains within easy reach for a travel vacation.
Great restaurants, reasonable car rentals, good bus service, and the proximity to
Huatulco resort beaches and the surfing beaches of Puerto Escondido make Oaxaca a
great place for a vacation.
The Mixtec people, a
group that entered the
region after the
decline of the city,
used the Zapotec
tombs to bury their
royal dead, leaving the
Tomb 7 offerings in
the 14th century.
Monte Alban Archaeological Ruin sprawls over three peaks
The Mixtec people , a group from the northern mountains entered the valley of Oaxaca and used the
abandoned city of Monte Alban as a burial ground.   While using the old tombs, they showed respect for
the bodies they found within.  They would move skeletons and offerings aside to place their own royalty
within the tombs built lt by the Zapotec people, the original builders of Monte Alban.

Bus to Monte Alban
Hotel Rivera del Angel ( four blocks south, four blocks west of the Zocalo) has a tour bus terminal
where trips to many Oaxacan sites  are available including Monte Alban.   Round trip bus $3.00 USD  
approximately. ((38 Pesos)  Stay as long as you like.  The last bus leaves the ruin at 5:00 PM
Monte Alban site open 8:00 Am to  5:00 PM        Allow three to four hours to visit the ruin and museum.
Monte Alban Oaxaca Ruin Site is an Archaeological Site in
Oaxaca City Mexico.  The ruin site of Monte Alban has
remnants of thousands of terraced house sites  visible on the
hillsides but only 10% of the city has been excavated.
Monte Alban Oaxaca, Ruin Site,
Monte Alban Oaxaca, Ruin Site,
Oaxaca  City, Mexico
Monte Alban Oaxaca, Ruin Site,
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