Indigenous peoples of Oaxaca
Several cultures flourished in the ancient region of Oaxaca from as far back as 2000 BC, of whom the Zapotecs and Mixtecs were perhaps the most advanced, with complex social organization and sophisticated arts.
The climate is temperate, cooler at higher altitudes and warmer by the coast and in the Papaloapan region, which is part of the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain.
Oaxaca is the historic home of the Zapotec and Mixtec peoples among others, and contains more speakers of indigenous languages than any other Mexican state.
In the pre-Columbian period, the Zapotec developed an advanced civilization centered in Monte Albán in the central valley, which lasted between 300 BC and 700 AD.
Diseases introduced by the Spanish greatly diminished the native population of Oaxaca, as did the insatiable appetite for gold, which led more and more Oaxacans into the dangerous mines.
Important government positions were filled by the Spanish and their descendants, and later by elite mestizos, persons of mixed European and indigenous ancestry.
However, Oaxaca remained largely an agriculture-based economy with little development throughout the colonial period, following Mexican independence in 1821 and following the revolution of 1910.
The state, and the indigenous people in particular, had some of the nation's highest rates of illiteracy, malnutrition, and infant mortality.
In pre-Columbian times the Zapotec civilization was one of the highly developed cultures of Mesoamerica, which among other things included a system of writing.
Starting from around 1900, improved education in Spanish resulted in reduction of the number of Chocho speakers, who are now mostly elderly.
[14] The terrain of the Chocho country is mountainous with low rainfall, hot summers and cold winters.
The main source of cash comes from weaving palm-leaf hats, which is done in caves to prevent the leaves from drying out.
[15] Coixtlahuaca was a thriving Chocho and Ixtatec market until about 1900, but since then many people have had move away due to loss of topsoil to erosion.
[13] Ixcatec, also known as Xwja, is a language spoken by the people of the village of Santa María Ixcatlan in the north of the Cañada region of Oaxaca.
Amuzgo is an Oto-Manguean language spoken in the Costa Chica region of Guerrero and Oaxaca by about 44,000 speakers.
[20] The name Amuzgo is claimed to be a Nahuatl exonym but its meaning is shrouded in controversy; multiple proposals have been made, including [amoʃ-ko] 'moss-in'.
[citation needed] Four variants of Amuzgo are officially recognized by the governmental agency, the Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI).
[22] The Trique are an indigenous people of the western part of Oaxaca, centered in the municipalities of Juxtlahuaca, Tlaxiaco and Putla.
[23] Triqui people live in a mountainous region, called "La mixteca baja", in the Southwest part of Oaxaca.
This high elevation permits low-lying cumulus clouds to envelop entire towns during the afternoons and evenings.
[26] Most of the people are engaged in subsistence agriculture, with some keeping cattle and goats, and with women producing textile crafts for a source of cash.
[27] The Chinantecs live in Oaxaca and Veracruz, Mexico, especially in the districts of Cuicatlán, Ixtlán de Juárez, Tuxtepec and Choapan.
[31] In the pre-Hispanic period, the Zoque lived throughout Chiapas, and as far away as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and parts of the state of Tabasco.
[36] Lowland Chontal is mostly spoken around San Pedro Huamelula and Santiago Astata in the Pacific coastal area of the western Tehuantepec District, which is in the west of the Istmo region.
The coastal lowlands cover about 870 km² made up of rugged foothills and mountain ridges 50–700 m above sea level.
They practice subsistence agriculture growing corn, squash, beans and vegetables as well as fruit trees such soursop, mamey, sapodilla, avocado, guava and nanche.
