Lambityeco
Yeguih Archaeological Zone Lambityeco
Classic Xoo 600–850 CE·Zapotec (Xoo phase, Late Classic)·🇲🇽 Oaxaca, Tlacolula District, Mexico
About
About Lambityeco
Xoo-phase Zapotec salt-production palace (600–850 CE): Mound 195 palace with Temple of Cocijo friezes, 140 m wide salt-evaporation workshop (tell de sal), 197 m Mound 190 residence with painted tomb with maize god friezes and Zapotec urns, linking salt to Monte Albán tribute. Lind reconstructs 600 houses, salt pans 5 m deep, produced 30 tons/yr, financed Xoo elite before Mixtec takeover.
Why it mattersBest-documented prehispanic salt industry; reveals attached specialization financing Zapotec state.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01How salt trade financed Monte Albán palace
- 02Cocijo frieze south vs north style
Theories
- 01Lambityeco prime minister controls salt vs Monte Albán
- 02Mixtec intrusion ends salt monopoly
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.600–850 CE (Xoo phase)
- Period
- Classic Xoo 600–850 CE
- Culture
- Zapotec (Xoo phase, Late Classic)
- Builders
- Zapotec (Xoo)
- Purpose
- Elite salt-production center and palace, salt tribute to Monte Albán
- Abandoned
- c.850 CE (Monte Albán collapse)
- Rediscovered
- 1961 John Paddock excavations
- Excavation
- Excavated
600 CE
Palace Mound 195 construction
850 CE
Abandonment with Monte Albán
On the ground
Structures & features
16.9681° N · 96.4825° W · 1600 m · 2 mapped features
Mound 195 Palace
palaceCocijo-mask palace with stucco friezes and tomb
16.9685° N · 96.4820° WTell de Sal (Salt Mound)
workshop140 m salt-evaporation workshop with boiling pans
16.9675° N · 96.4830° W
Gallery