Aztec | Borgia Group | Maya | Mixtec | Most Ancient
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Last Update: 9 September 1997

The symbolism and iconography of writing systems found throughout the ancient world are fascinating, but none more than those that evolved in ancient Mesoamerica. Developing independently of Mediterranean or Asian cultures, there are several different types of pre-conquest writing that represent a unique intellectual achievement in this part of the new world.

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The Most Ancient Writing

The La Mojarra Page
has been updated.

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Maya Writing & Iconography

This image is from page 59 of the Dresden Codex

The Maya Codices

Dresden

Paris

Madrid

Grolier

The Books of Chilam Balam and the Ritual of the Bacabs (old manuscripts written in the Yucatec Mayan language using european characters) have come to the forefront in recent research. There are probably thirty or so Mayan language groups, each with their own dialects. The carved inscriptions are thought to be Chol or some variant proto-mayan language, while the codices are thought to represent spoken Yucatec mayan.

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Mixtec Codices & Lienzos

There are fewer than twenty codices that are written in a purely native style on bark paper or animal skin. The greatest number of these are from Oaxaca and are of the Mixtec writing system (pronounced "Mish tek"). They primarily convey genealogical, ritual or mytho-historic information, but they have allowed scholars to reconstruct political history going back to the 11th Century or earlier.

There are also large sheets known as Lienzos or Mapas that continue the picture writing tradition that have been painted in the Mixteca area through this century.

Alfonso Caso firmly established the geneological nature and a preliminary chronology for these documents. A revised chronology introduced by Emily Rabin almost two decades ago is finally to be published by her through Vanderbilt University in the near future.

The Codex Nuttall is available inexpensively from Dover Books in a facsimile of Zelia Nuttall's original publication earlier this century. In the Realm of Eight Deer conveys the recent research of Bruce Byland and John Pohl and is available from the University of Oklahoma Press.

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Borgia Codex Group

The painted manuscripts of the enigmatic Borgia Codex Group probably are of Mixtec origin, but it is clear that they contain information relating to the Mexica (pronounced "Mesh ee ka") and their ritual cult of Huitzilipochtli (pronounced... well, you're on your own), so they may be of Mexica origin.

In any event they're collectively representative of the Mixteca-Puebla "international" style. The Borgia Codex itself (an incredible document) is available inexpensively ($14.95!) in a drawn reconstruction from Dover Books.

The documentation and study of the Borgia group codices will be a key area for content at this web site. Any contributions are encouraged.

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Aztecs & The Valley of Mexico

The word Aztec was invented by a 19th century writer; perhaps the word was used to sanitize or distance the historical people from their progeny. The people encountered by Cortez were known as the Mexica, leaders of the Triple Alliance. They were the most powerful of many ethnic groups that made the valley of Mexico their home. We know a great deal about them from the early ethnographic works of Sahagun and other Spanish priests. There are several documents that have spanish commentary and nahuatl glosses (and sometimes other languages) accompanying picture writing used by the natives.

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Commercial Sites

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Help preserve the legacy of a great scholar.

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1996 - GBonline [] Last Update: 9 September 1997