Yagul Natural Monument
Yagul Natural Monument (Spanish: Monumento Natural Yagul, sometimes abbreviated MNY) is a federal protected natural area of Mexico, located in Tlacolula de Matamoros in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is one of four protected areas designated as "Natural Monuments" (Monumentos Naturales) under the administration of the federal agency CONANP, and was formally gazetted on 24 May 1999. The area covers some 1,046 hectares (4.04 sq mi) and encompasses the archaeological zone containing the pre-Columbian eastern Tlacolula Valley sites of Yagul and Caballito Blanco. Archaeological evidence from suggests human occupation at caves near these sites dating back to perhaps as early as 3000 BC. At Yagul more definitive indications show it to have been an active settlement by the Monte Albán Early I period, ca. 500—300 BC.