Zaachila, Archaeological site in Oaxaca Valley, Mexico

Zaachila is an archaeological site in the Oaxaca Valley with royal tombs built from stone and adobe. The tombs feature relief carvings of death symbols and mythological figures, and they held painted pottery and other objects from centuries ago.

Zaachila was founded by the Zapotecs and became the last Zapotec capital after Monte Albán declined. The Mixtecs took control before the Spanish arrival, and the Aztec ruler Ahuitzotl conquered the city in 1495, when Teitipac, Macuilxochitl and Teotitlan del Valle were its subjects. Two tombs were found in 1962 beneath an unexplored pyramid mound, and tombs 3 and 4 were excavated in 1971.

The site shows how the Zapotec and Mixtec peoples honored their dead and which gods mattered to them. You can see this in the carved figures on the tombs and in the painted vessels found there.

The site sits south of Oaxaca City and is easy to reach by the main highway. Guided tours and exhibition areas let you learn more about the objects that were discovered there.

Tomb 4, found in 1971, kept traces of paint on its lintel: skulls and crossed bones on a red background, recorded by Acosta in 1972. Tree roots and rain have since destroyed the designs, which the UNAM mural project has studied since 1990.