Centro Cultural de Santo Domingo
We were not quite tired of old pottery after the Precolumbian Art Museum, so we made our way over to the Centro Cultural de Santo Domingo (aka, the Regional Museum of Oaxaca), located in the 16th century Dominican Monastery that once dominated the northern part of the city. The museum featured oodles of carvings and pottery from the major civilizations that had inhabited Oaxaca at some time, focusing on the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs (Don't worry Philippe, the Mixtecs are kind of like the Aztecs).
The highlight of the visit was the treasure of Monte Alban's Tomb VII. This tomb was originally for a Zapotec, but the Mixtecs, who moved into the region after the fall of Monte Alban and pushed remaining Zapotecs to more marginal locations, considered the city's ruins sacred and reused many of the tombs. In the case of Tomb VII, the Mixtecs buried a number of high ranking personages there with their fabulous wealth. These artifacts, found in 1932, are among the very best of the very few examples of prehispanic gold work known to have survived Spanish rapacity. The best piece among these is a magnificent cup or recipient made of a human skull covered in turquoise mosaic.
We hope that you enjoy the pictures!
