From: http://www.celerina.com/history.html
Much of Zapotec history centers on the large archaeological site of Monte Alban. The site was first occupied some time between 800 and 400 B.C., probably by Zapotecs from the outset. Archaeologists divide the history of Monte Alban into five phases, or periods:
Period
I
II
III
IV
V
Christian Dates
500-200 B.C.
200 B.C.--A.D. 250
A.D. 250--700
A.D. 700-1000
A.D. 1000-1500
By about 200 B.C., the end of period I, the entire ridgetop on which
Monte Alban is located had been artificially flattened, and the
population had grown to about 10,000. Large scale building was already
taking place during Period I, though most of this construction has
been covered by the massive structures built later.
One theory for the development of Monte Alban is as a governing
and religious center for the many smaller settlements in the Oaxaca
Valley. There is also evidence that much of this centralization
did not take place voluntarily; the many carved stone figures referred
to as "Los Danzantes," carved during Period I, are often
interpreted as a record of the conquest by Monte Alban of the smaller
communities of the Central Valleys, the names of which appear as
place-glyphs on these figures.
In Period II the full-scale flattening of the surrounding ridgetops,
and the terracing of surrounding slopes took place, indicating that
Monte Alban was now in a position to command human resources not
available to it before.
The peak of Monte Alban's development took place during Period III.
It is primarily the architecture of this period that one sees in
a visit to the site; the enormous North and South platforms, with
splendid remains of pyramid-temples, palaces, patios and tombs.
For reasons still not entirely clear, the site was gradually abandoned
beginning around A.D. 700. One theory is that the local resources
of wood and fertile slopes had been depleted. This does not explain
however the simultaneous decline of other civilizations of the area,
including Teotihuacan. From about 950 to the arrival of the Spanish
in 1521, there was minimal life at Monte Alban, except that Mixtecs
arriving in the Central Valleys between 1100 and 1350 reused old
tombs at the site to bury their own dignitaries.