[4] At an elevation of 4,855 ft (1,480 m), surrounded by the mountains of the Sierra Madre del Sur,[5] the archeological site is within the modern municipality of San Pablo Villa de Mitla.

While Monte Albán was the most important politically of the Zapotec centers, Mitla became the main religious one in a later period as the area became dominated by the Mixtec.

[7] It was established as a sacred burial site by the Zapotec, but the architecture and designs also show the influence of the Mixtec, who had become prominent in the area during the peak of Mitla settlement.

Mitla is unique among Mesoamerican sites because of its elaborate and intricate mosaic fretwork and geometric designs that cover tombs, panels, friezes, and even entire walls of the complex.

This valley was settled by the Zapotec before the turn of the first millennium, who over the centuries developed a hierarchical society governed by elites.

These were dependent on their constructed irrigation systems and the use of terraces on mountain slopes in order to grow food for the mostly urban population.

[9] Mitla is one of the pre-Columbian sites that express the Mesoamerican belief that death was the most consequential part of life after birth.

[4] Mitla was still occupied and functioning as the main religious center when the Spanish explorers and military expeditions arrived in the 1520s and later.

[9] During the early colonial period, some descriptions of the site were by the Spanish invaders and missionaries who first arrived in the valley.

[11] Another early writer was Diego García de Palacio, a Spanish nautical engineer working in Mexico and Guatemala, whose account was dated in 1576.

As the site had long held great political and religious significance for the area, he wanted to dissolve its power.

The north side of the Cathedral of Oaxaca incorporates design features from Mitla to symbolize that the old culture was superseded by the new religious order.

[10][11] In the state of Oaxaca, Mitla is second in importance as an archeological site only to Monte Albán, the central city.

The city was fully developed when the Spaniards arrived and brutally destroyed it due to religious zeal in the mid-16th century.

[17] The oldest group of buildings has been dated to between 450 and 700 CE and shows architectural features similar to those found at the earlier Monte Albán.

Another syncretism was later expressed by the Catholic churches using Zapotec design features as they built over the foundations by destroying indigenous temples in this area, such as the San Pedro Church, located in the North Group, and the Calvario Chapel, located in the Adobe Group.

Construction on the site, and acquisition and transportation of such materials, required the complex coordination of large groups of workers.

[4] Walls throughout this building are covered by intricate mosaic fretwork, and murals depicting mythological scenes and characters.

According to legend, if a person wraps their arms around the column, the space remaining between the hands indicates the amount of life the individual has left.

[6][7] After passing through a small corridor, access is gained to the courtyard, which is intricately decorated in mosaic fretwork and geometric designs.

The north and east buildings of the group have elaborate tombs where high priests and Zapotec rulers were buried.

[7] The main distinguishing feature of Mitla is the intricate mosaic fretwork and geometric designs that profusely adorn the walls of both the Church and Columns groups.

[9] The geometric patterns, called grecas in Spanish, are made from thousands of cut, polished stones that are fitted together without mortar.

[1][21] Reconstruction projects planned or underway include, rebuilding the 17th-century wall of a room used as a priests’ residence in the Church Group, laying stucco floors in the Columns Group, sealing of platforms and fortifications walls, and landscaping and the restoration of a colonial-era rainwater collection tank.

The Mitla ruins are listed along with the Tree of Tule in the region, and nearby caves that have ancient paintings and show evidence of human habitation for 8,000 years.