The Northern Platform at Monte Albán marks the north side of the main plaza. It is the largest construction on the site, measuring roughly 980 feet north-south and 500 feet east-west, and rises about 32 feet above the plaza. On its top there are ceremonial and elite residential buildings. It is accessible from the plaza through a monumental stairway, about 120 feet wide, which leads to a colonnade, where each column has a diameter of about 6 feet.
The Northern Platform was constructed during the Late Formative period, and in this first phase it probably included only public buildings, like temples and the sunken patio at its center. Iconographic symbols with references to sky, rain and lightnings suggest that in this period the platform was used for ceremonial purposes related to the celestial sphere.
During the Classic Period, the northern, more secluded sector of the platform was occupied by elite residences. As evidence of this elite occupations, carved monuments which reference elite genealogies, were found in the platform.
During excavations in the North Platform artifacts imported from Teotihuacan, and of locally-made Teotihuacan-style have been recovered. Archaeologists suggest that these could have been gifts exchanged between the elites of the two cities. Some archaeologists suggested that for a certain period Monte Albán was under the political influence of the Central Mexico metropolis. However, it is more probable that the two cities entertained some sort of political relations, and that the north platform was the place where diplomatic encounters among the two centers took place, in the form of feasting and ceremonies.