Excursion 2

We went on a 2nd excursion last week on Tuesday, but I just had a chance to upload the pictures. We went to 4 different archaeological sites in Oaxaca Valley, Dainzú, Lambityeco, Mitla, and Yagul. All of these were occupied betwen about 200 CE to 1200 CE and even to the conquest in 1521. They all have different examples of post classic and classic Mesoamerica things, like temples, patios, alters, palaces, ritualistic areas. Some highlights include going into the Tombs at Yagul and Mitla (there was one in Mitla I couldn't fit into), rock climbing at Yagul and ending up way higher than the rest of the class, and my lunch (which is in the pictures) at Mitla which was an awesome Tostada that cost about 80 cents...the exchange rate here is awesome!

The pictures are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/peterbrown4/Excursion2#

There are 2 things that at all the sites/in Oaxaca that are important to note:
1. The stairs--they are either really steep with skinny places to put your feet, so they are very far apart. If you look at the pictures from Monte Albán you can see the stairs up to the platforms, some times they are cracked. Most of the times they are very hard to walk up, so the Zapotecs who lived here must have had long legs and small feet.
2. Height--Most of the tombs and tunnels that are found are probably about 3-4 feet tall, not meant for a 6' 1" male. Many of them are hard to fit into, and I can't in some of them, or I have to crawl. In general, throughout the city of Oaxaca I have noticed that everything is built for smaller people. I have to watch my head all the time, as door enterances are 6' and there are sometimes sloped roofs out over the sidewalks that are low enough so I can smack my head. When we go out at night, I'm usually the tallest person at any of the places we go, unless there are other Americans there. Its a city built for short people.