Zapotec
Middle America and the CaribbeanhorticulturalistsMap
expand_more Description
The Zapotec are the largest indigenous group in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, inhabiting the central valley, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the sierra region in the north, and the southern coastal mountain area called the Sierra de Miahuatlán. The Zapotec are primarily town-dwelling peasant farmers, practicing a mixture of subsistence and cash agriculture with some animal husbandry. The Zapotec are renowned for their commercial activities. They live in compact communities. Ritual co-parenthood (compadrazgo) forms an important part of Zapotec society. Most communities observe a "cargo system", in which all adult men serve terms of office without pay.
Identifier
Region
- Middle America and the Caribbean
Subregion
- Central Mexico
Subsistence Type
- horticulturalists
Samples
Countries
- Mexico