High-resolution LiDAR surveys in the remote Sierra Norte of Oaxaca have revealed a previously unknown Zapotec urban center situated on a high-altitude ridge. Dubbed the 'Cloud-City,' the site features massive stone terraces and a series of paved 'skyways'—elevated stone causeways—connecting ceremonial plazas to defensive outposts.
The scale of the settlement suggests that the Zapotec civilization maintained a significantly larger presence in the rugged mountain regions than previously suspected. Researchers believe the city served as a strategic hub for controlling trade routes between the central Oaxacan valleys and the tropical lowlands of the Gulf Coast.