Long Zapotec Native Mexican Fringed Wool Rug. Traditional Zapotec rugs often incorporate geometric pyramids representing the ancient political and economic center of Monte Albán. The zig-zag patterns represents lightning, which is connected to Cocijo, the Zapotec god of lightning and rain. These pink and blue colors are some of the most unique found in Mexico, particularly the Oaxaca valley, and are made from plants and insect husks not found anywhere else in the world. 

Size: 47 1/2 x 88 in. 

The Zapotec civilization (Be’ena’a, literally meaning “The People” in their language) was an indigenous pre-Columbian people that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca in Mesoamerica from around 700 BC until 1521 AD. The Zapotecs developed a calendar and a logosyllabic system of writing that used a separate glyph to represent each of the syllables of the language. This writing system is thought to be one of the first writing systems of Mesoamerica, concurrent with the Olmec, and a predecessor of those developed by the Maya, Mixtec, and Aztec civilizations. They were well known throughout Meso and Central America for their jade jewelry, stone sculptures, and weaving, using silk from silkworms in the mulberry trees. The Zapotec archaeological site at the ancient city of Monte Albán has monumental buildings, ball courts, tombs and grave goods, including finely worked gold jewelry. Monte Albán was one of the first major cities in Mesoamerica, and continues to be a valuable source of information for scholars about life in pre-Columbian times. Originally three warring but interrelated tribes, they were finally consolidated under a single ruler around 300 AD, and from then on were too powerful militarily or politically to be legitimately threatened until the arrival of the Aztecs in the 1450s. Considered a “no man’s land” due to its inaccessible heights in the tall mountainous area of the Oaxaca region, Monte Albán’s unassailable status was never successfully challenged throughout the long history of their people. Rather, due to extreme blights and civil unrest, the lower classes eventually abandoned their duties to the ruling class atop the mountain, and the civilization disintegrated during the Spanish conquest. On November 25th, 1521, Francisco de Orozco arrived in the Valley of Oaxaca, with both the Zapotecs and Mixtecs in the area immediately surrendering to the rule of Hernan Cortes, having recently heard the fate of their mortal enemies, the Aztecs. According to historians, “peaceful” conquest spared the Valley of Oaxaca the loss of life and the grave social and psychological dislocations experienced by the Aztecs in the Valley of Mexico, and was the reason for the survival of many regional customs, dialects, architecture, and beliefs. Nevertheless, many Zapotec cities were destroyed to help build Spanish forts and homes, and the population was subjected to forced labor and cultural assimilation. Despite the impact which came from the Spanish colonization, the Zapotec people were able to maintain their cultural heritage and traditions, and today the valley is considered one of the cultural hubs of the country, with more artisans and tourism directed to the area than any other non-coastal region.