This is a photograph of a room on the inside of the principal palace at Mitla, Oaxaca, an ancient city occupied by the same people who were responsible for several of the Mixtec codices. It was probably built sometime in the12th or 13th century. The stone mosaic designs were undoubtedly inspired by geometric designs on woven textiles. HIstorians have found evidence that weavers from Oaxaca were brought by Spaniards to help teach the Navajo how to make woolen blankets, hence some of the similarities between these designs and those that appear on traditional Navajo rugs. Beautiful, isn't it?