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Location, Location, Location ...

From Monte Albán, an ancient city high atop the modern city of Oaxaca, you can see for miles up and down the 3 valleys that connect here.

From around 500 BC this area was controlled by Zapotecs who leveled this hilltop and built these pyramids. At its height there were about 25,000 people living here and on the surrounding hills.

They were probably the first culture in Mesoamerica to develop a writing and a calendar system. Then about 900 AD the place was abandoned - no one is sure why.