Abstract The Mixtec village of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlan, in Oaxaca, Mexico, underwent a radical transformation in the second part of the 16th century, due to the contact and penetration of Spanish institutions in the local life of the village. The Dominican missionary establishment, comprising a church and friars' living and working quarters in an adjoining convent, was built on top of a pre-Hispanic platform at the center of a wide plain and was visible from all the densely populated surroundings. The new royal palace, which served as
