North Platform

The artwork on the back side of the M$20 banknote depicts the view from atop this small unexcavated ruin.

The Zapotec used a very different layout from the Mayan ball courts at sites like Coba or Chichen Itza.

The unusual alignment and architecture indicate that this was an astronomical observatory.

This small museum has some excellent interpretive displays plus a number of relics excavated from the site in the early 20th century. The highlights are its collection of stelae and the original Danzantes carvings. All the signs are only in Spanish. There are also restrooms, a small bookstore and a cafe.

Replicas of a group of carved stones found near Building L, noted for fascinating Olmec carvings of naked men in various contorted positions. The original archaeologists described them as "dancers", but a more recent interpretation is that these are mutilated victims about to be sacrificed.

Mexican archaeologists uncovered this treasure-filled tomb in the early 1930s. The tomb is closed off; its treasures are at the Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca in the city.