My first cover from Mexico! Funny how I knew so many Mexicans when I lived back in the States, but never asked them to send me a cover or some stamps from the country south of the border. Anyway, I was very happy to find this in my PO box because, not only is it from Mexico, but it also has a stamp on one of my favorite themes: archeology!
The large stamp on the right shows an iconic landmark in Mexico, Monte Albán. Besides being one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica, Monte Albán's importance stems also from its role as the pre-eminent Zapotec socio-political and economic center for close to a thousand years. Founded at around 500 BC, by ca.100 BC-AD 200 Monte Albán had become the capital of the Zapotec, who dominated much of the Oaxacan highlands and interacted with other Mesoamerican regional states such as Teotihuacan to the north . The city had lost its political pre-eminence by ca. AD 500-750 and soon thereafter was largely abandoned. Small-scale reoccupation, opportunistic reutilization of earlier structures and tombs, and ritual visitations marked the archaeological history of the site into the Colonial period.
The stamp to the right is a definitive that is part of the series "Creación Popular," or "Popular/Manmade? Creations." It shows a laquered wood trunk, which was probably adopted from the Chinese during the Galleon trade that passed through Mexico during Spanish colonization.
As you can see from the cancel, the Servicio Postal Mexicano uses a large rectangular postmark that isn't very clear. Maybe they didn't have the philatelist's best interest in mind?
Also, I wonder what the curious red blotch is for. It looks like it was applied with a rubber stamp, but why? Does anyone know what it is for?
The large stamp on the right shows an iconic landmark in Mexico, Monte Albán. Besides being one of the earliest cities of Mesoamerica, Monte Albán's importance stems also from its role as the pre-eminent Zapotec socio-political and economic center for close to a thousand years. Founded at around 500 BC, by ca.100 BC-AD 200 Monte Albán had become the capital of the Zapotec, who dominated much of the Oaxacan highlands and interacted with other Mesoamerican regional states such as Teotihuacan to the north . The city had lost its political pre-eminence by ca. AD 500-750 and soon thereafter was largely abandoned. Small-scale reoccupation, opportunistic reutilization of earlier structures and tombs, and ritual visitations marked the archaeological history of the site into the Colonial period.
The stamp to the right is a definitive that is part of the series "Creación Popular," or "Popular/Manmade? Creations." It shows a laquered wood trunk, which was probably adopted from the Chinese during the Galleon trade that passed through Mexico during Spanish colonization.
As you can see from the cancel, the Servicio Postal Mexicano uses a large rectangular postmark that isn't very clear. Maybe they didn't have the philatelist's best interest in mind?
Also, I wonder what the curious red blotch is for. It looks like it was applied with a rubber stamp, but why? Does anyone know what it is for?
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