Mitla was the second most important Zapotecan ceremonial center after Monte Alban. The name Mitla or Mictlan is of Nahuatl origin and means "Place of the Dead" or "Inframundo". In Zapotec it is called "Lyobaa", which means "Burial Place", and in Mexico it became known as Mictlan, "Place of the Dead" which is shortened in Spanish to Mitla. It was inhabited in the Classic Period (100-650 AD), with its greatest growth and height in the Post Classic period (750-1521 AD).
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