What makes Mitla an important archaeological site is not its size or the number of people who lived there, but because it was the main religious center for the Zapotecs who built it and also because of the fretwork of geometric patterns carved into the stone walls of the buildings that are found nowhere else in Mexico.
Oaxaca, Mexico, for all its beauty, is a somewhat out-of-the-way locale. But for Zapotecs, who began their ascendance some 2,500 years ago, the Central Valleys of Oaxaca were an ideal place to call home. Unlike some of the better-known civilizations in Mexico, Central and South America, Zapotecs were not as concerned with making war as they were with making deals – as in trade – a tradition that continues to this day.