ABSTRACT
Dainzú, located in the Oaxaca Valley of Mexico, has a long history of religious-ceremonial significance. In the Classic period (ce 200–900), the site expanded significantly from its once small core into an urban settlement covering around 4 km2. We suggest this new construction was carefully planned out as a spatial representation of the ancient Zapotec ritual calendar, in which elite status was physically linked through the placement of palaces on or near sacred grounds. As the Classic-period political system began to decline, however, these palaces were abandoned, and people moved to smaller, regionally dispersed settlements. As the new political order emerged, the relationship between the landscape, elites, and ritual activity in the region transformed. In this paper, we present findings from recent intensive mapping and excavation projects at the site that demonstrate marked changes in ritual activity from elite-driven to community-driven ceremonies. These patterns indicate cultural resilience and adaptation in the wake of political transition from the Classic to Postclassic in Oaxaca. Additionally, we examine Late Classic changes in the iconography of household figurines that help document the changing political environment during this slow transformation.
