Zapotec

In this extensively revised and updated second edition of her classic ethnography, Lynn Stephen explores the intersection of gender, class, and indigenous ethnicity in southern Mexico. She provides a detailed study of how the lives of women weavers and merchants in the Zapotec-speaking town of Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, have changed in response to the international demand for Oaxacan textiles. Based on Stephen’s research in Teotitlán during the mid-1980s, in 1990, and between 2001 and 2004, this volume provides a unique view of a Zapotec community balancing a rapidly advancing future in export production with an entrenched past anchored in indigenous culture. Stephen presents new information about the weaving cooperatives women have formed over the last two decades in an attempt to gain political and cultural rights within their community and standing as independent artisans within the global market. She also addresses the place of Zapotec weaving within Mexican folk art and the significance of increased migration out of Teotitlán. The women weavers and merchants collaborated with Stephen on the research for this book, and their perspectives are key to her analysis of how gender relations have changed within rituals, weaving production and marketing, local politics, and family life. Drawing on the experiences of women in Teotitlán, Stephen considers the prospects for the political, economic, and cultural participation of other indigenous women in Mexico under the policies of economic neoliberalism which have prevailed since the 1990s.

A Zapotec Natural History is an extraordinary book that describe the people of a small town in Mexico and their remarkable knowledge of the natural world in which they live. San Juan Gbëë is a Zapotec Indian community located in the state of Oaxaca, a region of great biological diversity. Eugene S. Hunn is a well-known anthropologist and ethnobiologist who has spent many years working in San Juan Gbëë, studying its residents and their knowledge of the local environment. Here Hunn writes sensitively and respectfully about the rich understanding of local flora and fauna that village inhabitants have acquired and transmitted over many centuries. In this village everyone, young children included, can identify and name hundreds of local plants, animals, and fungi, together with the details of their life cycles, habitat preferences, and functions in the economic, aesthetic, and spiritual lives of the town. Part 1 of this two-part work describes the community, the subsistence farming practices of its residents, the nomenclature and classification of the local biological taxonomy, the use of plants for treating illnesses, and the ritual and decorative roles of flowers. Part 2 is available online, and includes detailed inventories of all plant, animal, and fungal categories recognized by San Juan’s people; a series of indexes; a library of more than 1,200 images illustrating the town’s plants, people, landscapes, and daily activities; and sounds of village life.

Ancient Zapotec Religion is the first comprehensive study of Zapotec religion as it existed in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca on the eve of the Spanish Conquest. Author Michael Lind brings a new perspective, focusing not on underlying theological principles but on the material and spatial expressions of religious practice. Using sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spanish colonial documents and archaeological findings related to the time period leading up to the Spanish Conquest, he presents new information on deities, ancestor worship and sacred bundles, the Zapotec cosmos, the priesthood, religious ceremonies and rituals, the nature of temples, the distinctive features of the sacred and solar calendars, and the religious significance of the murals of Mitla—the most sacred and holy center. He also shows how Zapotec religion served to integrate Zapotec city-state structure throughout the valley of Oaxaca, neighboring mountain regions, and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Ancient Zapotec Religion is the first in-depth and interdisciplinary book on the Zapotecs and their religious practices and will be of great interest to archaeologists, epigraphers, historians, and specialists in Native American, Latin American, and religious studies.

2023 — Best Subsequent Book — Native American and Indigenous Studies Association 2023 — Honorable Mention, Best Book in the Social Sciences — Latin American Studies Association, Mexico Section 2022 — Marysa Navarro Best Book Prize — New England Council of Latin American Studies 2023 — Honorable Mention, LASA Mexico Social Sciences Book Prize — Mexico Section, Latin American Studies Association (LASA) As the first exhaustive translation and analysis of an extraordinary Zapotec calendar and ritual song corpus, seized in New Spain in 1704, this book expands our understanding of Mesoamerican history, cosmology, and culture. In 1702, after the brutal suppression of a Zapotec revolt, the bishop of Oaxaca proclaimed an amnesty for idolatry in exchange for collective confessions. To evade conflict, Northern Zapotec communities denounced ritual specialists and surrendered sacred songs and 102 divinatory manuals, which preserve cosmological accounts, exchanges with divine beings, and protocols of pre-Columbian origin that strongly resemble sections of the Codex Borgia. These texts were sent to Spain as evidence of failed Dominican evangelization efforts, and there they remained, in oblivion, until the 1960s. In this book, David Tavárez dives deep into this formidable archive of ritual and divinatory manuals, the largest calendar corpus in the colonial Americas, and emerges with a rich understanding of Indigenous social and cultural history, Mesoamerican theories of cosmos and time, and Zapotec ancestor worship. Drawing on his knowledge of Zapotec and Nahuatl, two decades of archival research, and a decade of fieldwork, Tavárez dissects Mesoamerican calendars as well as Native resistance and accommodation to the colonial conquest of time, while also addressing entangled transatlantic histories and shining new light on texts still connected to contemporary observances in Zapotec communities.

""Zapotec is one of the major hieroglyphic writing systems of ancient Mesoamerica. This volume explains the origins and spread of Zapotec writing, the role of Zapotec writing in the changing political agendas of the region, and the decline of hieroglyphic writing in the Valley of Oaxaca."--Provided by publisher"--

The history of Mesoamerica is rich, complex, and filled with mystery But for too long it has been misrepresented, misunderstood, and overlooked. Embark on a Journey of Discovery through Mesoamerican History, Culture, Mythology, and Beyond But be warned, this book is not for the faint of heart. Inside you'll gain insight into rituals, sacrifices, and societal structures that may challenge your preconceived notions…Nevertheless, if you can handle it, reading it will be an eye-opening experience that leaves you with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the rich heritage of Mesoamerica. We'll educate you about the Olmec civilization, the Zapotecs, the Mayans, the Aztecs, the Incas, and more. You'll discover their communication with the spirit world, their religion, architecture, agriculture, medicine, society and history. All of this and much more including: Timeline of Mesoamerican History, Major Periods & Civilizations The Spanish Conquest - Hernán Cortés & the Fall of the Aztecs The 2012 Apocalypse Myth + Mayan Astronomy Uncovered Myths, Creation Stories & Tales including The Popol Vuh, The Creation of the World and many more Tracing the Cultural and Religious Importance of Chocolate from Ancient Mesoamerican Civilizations to Modern Times Exploring the Impact of Indigenous Peoples on Architecture, Agriculture, and Medicine. The Marvels of Machu Picchu & How the Incan Empire Came to Be Unveiling the Aztecs' Expertise in Warfare: Insights into the Life of Aztec Soldiers and their Preparations for Battle. How the Zapatista Movement in Mexico is Empowering Indigenous Voices and Transforming Education in the Modern World. And much, much more… Whether you're a history enthusiast or a curious reader...inside you will discover all you need to know about the true story of Mesoamerican History & Mythology. So if you want to find out more then this is The Book for You.