The Codex Xolotl (also known as ''Codicé Xolotl'') is a postconquest cartographic Aztec codex, thought to have originated before 1542. It is annotated in

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

and details the preconquest history of the

Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico wa ...

, and Texcoco in particular, from the arrival of the

Chichimeca Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajio region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" that de ...

under the king Xolotl in the year 5 Flint (1224) to the Tepanec War in 1427. The codex describes Xolotl's and the Chichimeca's entry to the then unpopulated valley as peaceful. Although this picture is confirmed by the Texcocan historian

Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxochitl Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

(1568 or 1580–1648), there is other evidence that suggests that the area was inhabited by the

Toltec The Toltec culture () was a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology, reaching prominence from 950 to 1150 CE. Th ...

s. Ixtlilxochitl, a direct descendant of

Ixtlilxochitl I Ixtlilxochitl Ome Tochtli (1380-1418) was the ruler (''tlatoani'') of the Acolhua city-state of Texcoco from 1409 to 1418 and the father of the famous "poet-king" Nezahualcoyotl. Early years as ''tlatoani'' Claiming descent from the legendary Ch ...

and

Ixtlilxochitl II Ixtlilxochitl II (c. 1500–c. 1550) was the son of Nezahualpilli, Tlatoani of Texcoco. In 1516 Nezahualpilli died, and the succession was contested by several of his sons, including Cacamatzin and Ixtlilxochitl. The former gained the support of ...

, based much of his writings on the documents which he most probably obtained from relatives in Texcoco or

Teotihuacan Teotihuacan (Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as the ...

. The codex was first brought to Europe in 1840 by the French scientist , and is currently held by the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national reposito ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. The manuscript consists of six '' amatl'' boards measuring , with ten pages and three fragments from one or more pages. While it is unknown who did the binding of the manuscript, it is cast like a European book back to back. The Codex Xolotl has been an important source in giving detailed information on material, social, political and cultural changes in the region during the period. It is one of the few still surviving cartographic histories from the Valley of Mexico and one of the earliest of its type.

Historical Significance

The Codex Xolotl is an example of

material culture Material culture is the aspect of social reality grounded in the objects and architecture that surround people. It includes the usage, consumption, creation, and trade of objects as well as the behaviors, norms, and rituals that the objects crea ...

. This means that the codex can be used as an object to understand the culture of the

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

s. The object itself shows the Aztec understanding of the history of Texcoco. It is also a document that includes an early instance of Nahuatl writings referencing specific dates. There is some ongoing debate regarding how many writers were involved in creating the codex itself. This can propose discrepancy about how much personal influence was involved in creating the document.

Controversy

There are some debates that question how valid the codex is from an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

perspective. This debate roots itself in the work of Jeffrey Parsons in 1970s, with his book detailing the archaeology of the Texcoco region. One side of this debate states that the codex itself is not supported by the archaeological evidence of the region. Another argument claims that within the discrepancies, some historical facts can be separated from the mythology. An alternate response to Parsons' argument uses a hypothesis regarding a conflict between the

Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains * Tula Point India * Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran *Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy *Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the pr ...

and Cholula regions to support Parsons' position.

Notes

External links

High Definition scans of the codex at the French National Library

References

* *{{cite book , title=National narratives in Mexico: a history , last=Florescano , first=Enrique , year=2006 , publisher=

University of Oklahoma Press The University of Oklahoma Press (OU Press) is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. Founded in 1929 by the fifth president of the University of Oklahoma, William Bennett Bizzell, it was the first university press to be established ...

, isbn=978-0-8061-3701-8 , page=49 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qTimQMj0vM0C&pg=PA49

Codices The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, ...

Manuscripts by area A 16th century in the Aztec civilization 16th century in Mexico 16th century in New Spain Pictograms

Xolotl In Aztec mythology, Xolotl () was a god of fire and lightning. He was commonly depicted as a dog-headed man and was a soul-guide for the dead. He was also god of twins, monsters, misfortune, sickness, and deformities. Xolotl is the canine brothe ...

1540s books 16th-century illuminated manuscripts Aztec society Nahuatl literature Texcoco (altepetl) 1540s in Mexico 1540s in New Spain Bibliothèque nationale de France collections 1540s in North America

Historical Significance

Controversy

See also

Notes

External links

References