Caso, Alfonso

Caso, Alfonso

(älfōn`sō kä`sō), 1896–1970, Mexican archaeologist. An authority on the ancient high civilizations of Mexico, he directed explorations at MitlaMitla
[Nahuatl,=abode of the dead], religious center of the Zapotec, near Oaxaca, SW Mexico. Probably built in the 13th cent., the buildings, unlike the pyramidal structures of most Middle American architecture, are low, horizontal masses enclosing the plazas.
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 and Monte AlbánMonte Albán
, ancient city, c.7 mi (11.3 km) from Oaxaca, SW Mexico, capital of the Zapotec. Monte Albán was built on an artificially leveled, rocky promontory above the Valley of Oaxaca.
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 during the 1920s and 30s. Among his many books and articles are The Religion of the Aztecs (tr. 1937), Thirteen Masterpieces of Mexican Archeology (tr. 1938), and The Aztecs: People of the Sun (tr. 1958).