Zapotec Writing - Famsi

may not have been autochthonous to the communities where they were buried, but the available
sample is so small as to render the analysis of discontinuous traits impractical. As of yet,
attempts to extract DNA from these burials and from those in domestic contexts from diverse
communities for comparative purposes have not been carried out.
Some of the explored tombs seemingly appear to be associated with structures of a non-
domestic character. The case of tomb 7 at Monte Albán was classed as an example of such a
category (Flannery 1983: 132 and 135). Yet, the recent expansion of Caso’s excavations in the area
of the tomb to better understand its architectural context has revealed that the crypt was used in the
course of occupying and remodeling three superimposed houses, the second of which incorporated
over the tomb a two-room shrine (Martínez López 2002; Winter 2001a: 57-62). As already
commented by Martínez López (1998: 319-321), more archaeological research is needed to better
understand instances of multiple superimposed architectural configurations in the case of tombs that
appear to be associated to non-domestic contexts. For the time being, the existence of tombs
associated to “temples” during the time span of our concern has not been conclusively
demonstrated.
Returning to a consideration of the residential contexts, several domestic locales have
yielded more than one tomb. In many instances, such a multiplicity of crypts is related to the
presence of several phases of construction. Many of the earthen mounds that dot today the
landscape in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca are the result of a series of houses built upon each
other. This implies that a given tomb could be continuously used during the successive
occupation of these remodeled houses. At times, the vertical growth of the houses in a single
locality eventually incorporated two or more tombs in different stratigraphic positions (Figure
3.6). 26 There are several alternative interpretations to account for the occurrence of multiple
tombs in a single locality. It is possible that as houses kept accruing vertically, it became
26 Other examples of this phenomenon in Monte Albán are those of tombs 77-78 and 95-96 (Caso, Bernal
and Acosta 1967:283-284, plan 9), tombs 108-109 in terrace 1457, and tombs 97-43 in terrace 171 (Caso
1938: 32bis and plans 16 and 19); examples from Lambityeco include tombs 1, 5 and 6 in Mound 195
(Lind 1993); examples from Quicopecua include tombs 1 and 1b in Mound 1 (Bernal 1958); and in Yagul,
tombs 35 and 10 in Mound 5W (Brockington 1955).
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