The Zapotecs - Antiquity Age Civilization Concept CIV 7

[sTAPler27]

So little about the Zapotecs has been lost to time so I'm limited by the sources available to me to create a truly fitting concept. However I do think the Zapotecs are an important culture to include into the game. In games like Humankind the most fitting "historically accurate" path is Olmecs to Mayans to Aztecs with very little other options. The Zapotecs at the very least give another option for a Mesoamerican centered playthrough. The Mayans and the Zapotecs were neighbors and despite having heavily linked economies both developed quite relatively independently, even creating their own independent writing systems. Since we're seeing leaders and civilizations separated we could use a more out there choice for the leader, perhaps Benito Juarez, a modern figure of Zapotec origin, who was the first indigenous president of Mexico. This would help tie together a playthrough of Mexican cultures.

If anyone is more well read on Zapotec culture please feel free to make suggestions, especially when it comes to finding a military unit for this faction and Traditions that fit the civic tree.

The Zapotecs - Antiquity Age Civilization Concept

The Zapotecs - Antiquity Age Civilization Far above the lowlands of Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley was a city like no other. Built by people said to be from the clouds themselves, somewhere they believed they’d soon return to in death. Even after their premier city was abandoned it was held in high reg...

docs.google.com

 

[Henri Christophe]

I'm in favor of all meso-american civs, I think with so numerous kind of civilization should be more crowd then Europe in a game as Civilization.

 

[RedCourtJester]

I was initially going to say Zapotecs seem likely, but if the Mexico region gets a fourth civ I am betting the Purepecha are more likely with Lazaro Cardenas as the leader. Better balance of the region, better ties to the modern Mexico civ.

AND it's symbol can be the Michoacana girl, which is just, an automatic win.

 

[ehecatzin]

I was initially going to say Zapotecs seem likely, but if the Mexico region gets a fourth civ I am betting the Purepecha are more likely with Lazaro Cardenas as the leader. Better balance of the region, better ties to the modern Mexico civ.

AND it's symbol can be the Michoacana girl, which is just, an automatic win.

or Zapotecs and Benito Juarez as leader.

 

[RedCourtJester]

or Zapotecs and Benito Juarez as leader.

Or maybe Purepecha and Benito Juarez as leader.

 

[ehecatzin]

the possibilities are endless.

 

[TheGhostEnthusiast]

All of these mechanics seem well thought out, but the Funerary Procession stuck out to me most. A unique gameplay loop that gives otherwise suboptimal play in one area (letting units die) a benefit in a different area, encourages the use of other parts of the kit, while being in of itself a tactile in-game representation of a cultural practice? If this civ was in the game, I'd love to try it out.

 

[sTAPler27]

Why upload things as images rather than just writing the text? Makes it way harder to read (doesn't adjust to screen size / background), impossible to quote, and adds ridiculous amount of wasted white space.

It makes it easier to replicate the format of the civs on the game guide

 

[sTAPler27]

I think i'm going to skip on adding a unit because I can't find any records on their military and instead decided to give them a third bit of infastructure tied to their terrain bias.

 

[evonannoredars]

I think i'm going to skip on adding a unit because I can't find any records on their military and instead decided to give them a third bit of infastructure tied to their terrain bias.

What are you missing for units? Descriptions of military practices, weapons or words to use for names?

 

[sTAPler27]

What are you missing for units? Descriptions of military practices, weapons or words to use for names?

More or less everything. I couldn't find much detail on their military let alone things unique enough to make a unit out of. I'm considering just not adding one because I like the infastrucutre I've thought up and adding a unit now might make them busted. I feel like their current bonuses help give off the impression that they're a very defensive civ which Is somewhat what I was going for.

 

[ehecatzin]

The thing with the Zapotecs is that they didn't have a very recognizable "unique" unit, they pretty much used the same arms that Mixtecs and Mexica used, Atl-Atl's (spearthrowers), Macahuitls and Tepoztopilli* (spears).

What they did very different is fortification, Monte Alban, Zaachila and other classical Zapotec cities were built on top of strategic dominating hills that they expanded into terrace plataforms to dominate the lowlands, and they kept doing this even after they were pushed out of the valleys by the Mixtecs, in places like Guiengola on the Isthmus, they also kept up with buidling their cities on as defensible of a position as possible.

Giengola for example withstood a Mexica invasion, and forced them into peace talks (they ended up marrying into Mexica royalty and became stedfast allies)

*So coming back to weapons, the Tepoztopilli is a spear with obsidian tips, but if we look at Mixtec codexes we can see that the kind of spear is more rectangular and waaay larger that what the Mexica used, so you could pull ideas from either

As for best choice honestly considering Zapotecs should be a defensive civ, I'd give them an spearthrower variant, something like "Ben'Zaa Spearthrower" with very clear Xipe Totec motifs (their principal Deity)

​

 

[sTAPler27]

The thing with the Zapotecs is that they didn't have a very recognizable "unique" unit, they pretty much used the same arms that Mixtecs and Mexica used, Atl-Atl's (spearthrowers), Macahuitls and Tepoztopilli* (spears).

In that case I feel a lot more at ease with my concept given that they're encouraged on settling cliffs and have a building that reduces enemy combat strength. And given the Modern age has 2 civs that lack unique civilian units I think a civ with 3 bits of infrastructure isn't egregious.

 

[Caesar of Bread]

I don't consider this concept fully finished. So little about the Zapotecs has been lost to time so I'm limited by the sources available to me to create a truly fitting concept. However I do think the Zapotecs are an important culture to include into the game. In games like Humankind the most fitting "historically accurate" path is Olmecs to Mayans to Aztecs with very little other options. The Zapotecs at the very least give another option for a Mesoamerican centered playthrough. The Mayans and the Zapotecs were neighbors and despite having heavily linked economies both developed quite relatively independently, even creating their own independent writing systems. Since we're seeing leaders and civilizations separated we could use a more out there choice for the leader, perhaps Benito Juarez, a modern figure of Zapotec origin, who was the first indigenous president of Mexico. This would help tie together a playthrough of Mexican cultures.

If anyone is more well read on Zapotec culture please feel free to make suggestions, especially when it comes to finding a military unit for this faction and Traditions that fit the civic tree.

The Zapotecs - Antiquity Age Civilization Concept

The Zapotecs - Antiquity Age Civilization Far above the lowlands of Mexico’s Oaxaca Valley was a city like no other. Built by people said to be from the clouds themselves, somewhere they believed they’d soon return to in death. Even after their premier city was abandoned it was held in high reg...

docs.google.com

I like this! Especially because I can play as my goat Benito Juarez but also because I really want the Zapotecs in

 

[sTAPler27]

I like this! Especially because I can play as my goat Benito Juarez but also because I really want the Zapotecs in

I am not exactly well read on him but I hope that some day I'll gather enough infromation to make a concept for him as well.

 

[Henri Christophe]

The thing with the Zapotecs is that they didn't have a very recognizable "unique" unit, they pretty much used the same arms that Mixtecs and Mexica used, Atl-Atl's (spearthrowers), Macahuitls and Tepoztopilli* (spears).

What they did very different is fortification, Monte Alban, Zaachila and other classical Zapotec cities were built on top of strategic dominating hills that they expanded into terrace plataforms to dominate the lowlands, and they kept doing this even after they were pushed out of the valleys by the Mixtecs, in places like Guiengola on the Isthmus, they also kept up with buidling their cities on as defensible of a position as possible.

Giengola for example withstood a Mexica invasion, and forced them into peace talks (they ended up marrying into Mexica royalty and became stedfast allies)

*So coming back to weapons, the Tepoztopilli is a spear with obsidian tips, but if we look at Mixtec codexes we can see that the kind of spear is more rectangular and waaay larger that what the Mexica used, so you could pull ideas from either

View attachment 717374

As for best choice honestly considering Zapotecs should be a defensive civ, I'd give them an spearthrower variant, something like "Ben'Zaa Spearthrower" with very clear Xipe Totec motifs (their principal Deity)

​

I guess the Zapotecs are the civilization who more codex survive untill us. I don't know why, but I kind of think we do know more about Zapotec then others nations of México.

 

[ehecatzin]

I guess the Zapotecs are the civilization who more codex survive untill us. I don't know why, but I kind of think we do know more about Zapotec then others nations of México.

partially luck in that most modern codexes survive to this day because they were : A- looted and gifted to royals courts back at Europe, or B- they were kept secret by local communities.

Now I think you are mixing your peoples, Mixtec codex are the ones we have the most surviving well preserved examples, like the Nutall codex. they were renowned codex makers at their time, Tenochtitlan for example had a Mixtec quarter dedicated to codex's production. the "aztec codex" look is most often of Mixtec style.

PD- all that said, Mixtecs and Zapotecs are very intertwined (centuries of conquests and intermarriage will do that)

 

[Henri Christophe]

partially luck in that most modern codexes survive to this day because they were : A- looted and gifted to royals courts back at Europe, or B- they were kept secret by local communities.

Now I think you are mixing your peoples, Mixtec codex are the ones we have the most surviving well preserved examples, like the Nutall codex. they were renowned codex makers at their time, Tenochtitlan for example had a Mixtec quarter dedicated to codex's production. the "aztec codex" look is most often of Mixtec style.

PD- all that said, Mixtecs and Zapotecs are very intertwined (centuries of conquests and intermarriage will do that)

Thanks to correct me, I start to specialize my self in pre-columbian Mexico in order to do my final project in college, but, I need to admit I just gave few steps toward all the knowledge is possible to achieve from ancient México.