The sons of caves

The ancient Zapotecs said that their origin was in the caves, located towards the direction of the sunrise and that they built the sacred city of Montealbán so that the gods and illustrious dead persons would live there.

This ceremonial centre, the inhabitants of which were dignataries, started like a small village at about 800 b. C., getting its cevelopment 400 years later, when they started to venerate to the Bat God, the owner of the night.

In the 1930’s the investigators started with their work in Montealbán and as a result they released discoverings like the tomb 7 and the collective burials in the adoratory of the building “H”, formed by 5 skeletons and a great quantity of jade objects. One of the five skeletons carried as a pectoral the Bat God’s mask, which is considered to be the master piece of the Zapotec art (12-A). The mask consists of 25 jade pieces, perfectly cut and put together.

The Hujia-Tao, supreme priest of the Zapotec people, had as a symbol of power the figures identified as “Penates” (12-C); some of them are associated to the God of Rain (12-B). (H. Castellanos)