There is evidence of occupation in Yagul since the Monte Albán I era (500 BC). It flourished as an urban centre after the fall of Monte Albán (800 AD). After a short period of abandonment, Yagul flourished again and became a city-state in the Valley of Oaxaca, which prevailed until shortly before the arrival of the Spanish. Among the important monuments of this important Pre-Hispanic centre - whose Zapotec name "Ya-gule" means "Dry Tree or Stick" - is the most important ballgame court of the Oaxacan region, and the second most important in Mesoamerica.