Zinacantan

Zinacantán lies in the Tzotzil-speaking highlands of Chiapas, near the valley called Jovel. Before the Spanish conquest its people traded goods including salt from nearby wells, carried to markets across the highlands. Spanish settlers founded Villa Real in the neighbouring valley in 1528, later known as Ciudad Real. People from Zinacantán aided the newcomers and joined them in campaigns against other communities in the region.