Pre-Columbian Human Skull. Oaxaca, Mexico, circa sixteenth century. Human skull with eyes covered in seashell discs, believed to be of the Zapotec culture, with missing and worn teeth. Very good. The Zapotec culture was an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca in Mesoamerica over 2500 years ago, having left significant archeological evidence of their presence at Monte Alban, one of the first major cities in Mesoamerica.