The state of Oaxaca is located to the south of the Mexican Republic. The Sierra Madre Occidental traverses Oaxaca to the west dividing it into three main areas: the mountains, valleys and the coast. In the mountainous areas near the Sierra are the constructions of
Monte Albán which was the site of two great cultures - the Zapotec and the Mixtec.
The area which comprises the present-day state of Oaxaca and its geographic diversity - the high peaks of the Sierra Madre towering over little cold valleys, and the tropical coast of the Pacific and extensive temporate valleys - has been for millenia the homeland of numerous indigenous groups of different languages and cultural characteristics and who still live there today in relative isolation.
Of all the indigenous groups, it was the Zapotecs and Mixtecs who reached the highest point of development and cultural splendour, evidence of this having been found in the archaeological cities of the region. The most studied sites are those located in the valley of Oaxaca which had been inhabited since very early times. About 1400 B.C. rural villages with a cultural level similar to that of the first
settlements in the Valley of Mexico already existed.
Olmec origins appeared in the region about 800 B.C. When the construction of ceremonial centres began 400 years later, it is evident that the Olmec influence still played an important role in a social context, as shown by the engravings in Monte Albán.
