During the three millennia prior to the arrival of the Aztecs in 1436 , the most powerful and influential groups in what is today Oaxaca were the Zapotec , the Mixtec and the Mixe . The civilizations achieved by these groups is reflected in important archeological sites including Monte Albán , Mitla , Cerro de Minas , Guiengola and Huijatzoo .

The influences changed when the Aztecs settled around the Cerro del Fortín and down to the present Church of Carmen Alto where their temple was located. The name of the state comes from the Nahuatl designation they gave to the Central Valley around the capital – "Huaxyácac" or place of the guaje trees because of the great number of this species.

As the Spanish who arrived less than a century later found this difficult to pronounce it evolved into the present name of Oaxaca , for the city and for the state. The settlement founded by the Spanish in 1521 as Segura de la Frontera , later known as Nueva Antequera, was officially raised to the category of a "royal" city in 1532 by decree of Emperor Carlos V with the name of Antequera de Guaxaca.




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Circuito Diego Rivera Manzana 5, casa 8 Fraccionamiento Pintores III, San Jacinto Amilpas, Oaxaca, Oax,
Teléfono: En U.S.A. 210 858 08 21, En México 01 858 08 21