Guiengola

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Guiengola is a Zapotec archeological site located 14 km north of Tehuantepec.^[1], and 243 km southeast of Oaxaca city on Federal Highway 190. The visible ruins are located between a hill and a river that each carry the name of Guiengola. The name means “large stone” in the local variant of the Zapotec language.^[2]There are two main tombs that have been excavated, and both seem to be family interment sites. Both have front chambers that are for religious idols, while the rear chambers are for the burial of important people. ^[3] The site also has fortified walls, houses, ball fields, other tombs and a very large “palace” with remains of artificial ponds and terraces. ^[1] In the center of the site are 2 plazas, one lower than the other, and 2 pyramids, one to the east and one to the west.^[2]

It was constructed in the Post-Classic Mesoamerican period (1350-1521). The site was a Zapotec stronghold against the Aztecs, who never did conquer it. The last emperor of the area was Cocijoeza, who defended it successfully against Ahuizotl, ending hostilities by marrying one of Ahuizol’s daughters.^[2] While it was abandoned by the Zapotecs upon the conquest of the Spanish, the Spaniards never occupied it, leaving the ruins as they were. ^[1]

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