A millennium before the arrival of the Spaniards in 1521, the Zapotec city now known as Monte Alban was flourishing. Sweet-smelling copal incense wafted form gracefully designed, precisely aligned temples. Architects contrived cisterns to collect rainwater and built a specialized irrigation system. Trade flourished; busy open air markets sold local goods and imported jade beads, stone implements, metal, minerals, and pigments. Archaeological evidence suggests that trade routes extended as far away as Teotihuacan, north of present-day Mexico City.

The earliest inhabitants built structures of monolithic block walls, some pain, others with elaborate bas-relief sculptures. One of the best-known examples of the latter is the Galera de los Danzantes, on the west side of the plaza. It is engraved with large nude male figures depicting slain enemies and the rulers of defeated towns.