Intellectually Curious

Ancient Zapotec Engineering

Mike Breault

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0:00 | 4:53

A tour of Monte Alban's audacious engineering: how a rugged mountaintop was leveled into a 15,000-person plaza with cut-and-fill, how earthquake-resistant teplera walls and multifunctional terraces stabilized slopes, farmed land, and captured rainfall. We decode Building J’s alignment with the zenith passage, explore a cosmos-integrated urbanism, and discuss the 2026 San Pablo Yuitzo tomb discovery that reveals a regional backbone of resilient architecture and a model for sustainable, integrated city-building.


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