The Zapotec
A Zapotec head
The Zapotec civilization, like the Maya, grew up in the region that had been ruled by the Olmec, after the collapse of Olmec power about 500 BC. The main city of the Zapotec kings was Monte Alban (in modern Mexico). The Zapotec developed their own hieroglyphic writing system, possibly building on earlier Olmec writing. They built large stone temples and ball courts. People lived in stone houses held together with mortar.
The Zapotec tried to build peaceful relationships with their neighbors, the Aztec and the Maya. There were Zapotec ambassadors at the Aztec court of Teotihuacan, and Aztec ambassadors at Monte Alban. But they often fought wars anyway. They wore padded cotton armor. There was a big war between the Aztec and the Zapotec between 1497 and 1502, where the Aztec king Ahuizotl fought the Zapotec. The Zapotec king Cosijoeza still controlled his territory when the Spanish invaded Central America in the early 1500's.
To find out more about South American history before 1500, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
Ancient Rome (Eyewitness Books), by Simon James (2004). For kids.
Handbook of Mediterranean Roman Pottery, by John W. Hayes (1997). Hayes has been the leading expert on Roman pottery for the last several decades.
Roman Pottery, by Kevin Greene (1992). Greene is another pottery expert, particularly interested in what pottery can tell us about the Roman Economy.
