Yet archaeological evidence from the site of Monte Alban, "the first city in ancient Mesoamerica"[4] has revealed settlement of the region as far back as 1150 BCE.

Scholars have been able to correlate with the Formative, Classic, and post-Classic periods of civilization in the region within the greater Mesoamerican history through these discoveries.

The Formative stage, from about 500 BCE to 200 CE of which the periods of Monte Alban I and II are attributed to, is characterized by a shift to sedentary settlements and the practice of agriculture for subsistence.

From 200 to 900 CE in the Monte Alban III period, the Classic stage witnessed the rise of social and political structures in the Zapotec civilization.

Later, during the "Militaristic stage" of Monte Alban IV–V from around 900 to 1521 CE, a rise in military influence common among Mesoamerican societies led states to become mired in warfare and "cults of war".

[6] The first missionaries among the Zapotecs were Bartolomé de Olmeda, a Mercedarian, and Juan Díaz, a secular priest, who was killed by the natives in Quechula near Tepeaca for having "overthrown their idols".

There were large temples built called yo hopèe, the house of the vital force, in which the priests performed religious rites.

The highest position was held by the ouija-tào, great seer, who was likened to the Pope in the Catholic church by Spanish accounts of the sixteenth century.

[9] Zapotec women in the Mexican state of Oaxaca play a variety of social roles in their families and communities.

"Women, therefore, must work to contribute to their family income, in addition to attending to their traditional household tasks of child care and food.

However, with the onset of globalized industry and Mexico's transition from an agricultural economy to one revolving around services and manufacturing, the ideas about women and work have been shifting dramatically.

Women now see a way that they can participate in the market economy to make extra money for their families, and still are able to maintain the additional work they do at home which has no monetary value.

"[13] As women are increasingly working and involved in the market because of their contribution to the industry, the role they have in society is changing in relation to other aspects of their lives.

The merchant has come to symbolize a higher class status than the worker because they are the individuals who essentially control the market.

Furthermore, even though the manufacturing industry has been thriving on a global scale, because of the gender separation of labor, there is a lower value placed on the work.

[citation needed] Although there are very specifically defined gender roles regarding industrial production, it varies by city and by technique.

In larger cities, such as Oaxaca, where the industry is based around more expensive goods, such as automotive production or electronics manufacturing, men typically command factories and are engineers and directors, while women are usually in the lower positions of line workers and assistants.

In Mitla, fly shuttle weaving, of light-weight, but large-scale, fabrics are also more often done by men than by women, probably because of the physical effort required.