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  The land of the ancient Zapotec people, whose capital at Monte Albán was home to 25,000 people, Oaxaca also hosted a smaller number of Mixtecs, who eventually began challenging Zapotec dominance. Though the Mixtecs would manage to take Monte Albán in 1325, their conquest was cut short when the Aztecs invaded in the 15th century. The Aztecs, in turn, would fall to the Spanish just a few decades later.

Photography by Marcela Taboada