The ''Codex Xolotl'' (also known as ''Códice Xolotl'') is a postconquest cartographic

Aztec codex Aztec codices ( , sing. ''codex'') are Mesoamerican Codices, Mesoamerican manuscripts made by the pre-Columbian Aztecs, Aztec, and their Nahuatl-speaking descendants during the New Spain, colonial period in Mexico. Most of their content is ...

, thought to have originated before 1542. The text is primarily graphic, but it is also 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 Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

. It details the preconquest history of the Basin of Mexico, 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 Bajío region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the same meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" tha ...

under the ruler Xolotl in the year 5 Flint (1224 C.E.) to the Tepanec War in 1427. The codex describes Xolotl's and the Chichimecas' entry to an unpopulated basin as peaceful. Although this picture is confirmed by the writings of

mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

historian of Texcoco Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl (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 era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula (Mesoamerican site), Tula, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoam ...

s. Alva Ixtlilxochitl, a direct descendant of

Ixtlilxochitl I Ixtlilxochitl Ome Tochtli (c. 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 legen ...

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

Teotihuacan Teotihuacan (; Spanish language, 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 ...

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

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The manuscript consists of six ''

amatl Amate ( from ) is a type of bark paper that has been manufactured in Mexico since the Mesoamerican chronology, precontact times. It was used primarily to create Maya codices, codices. Amate paper was extensively produced and used for both comm ...

'' 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 for detailed information on

material culture Material culture is culture manifested by the Artifact (archaeology), physical objects and architecture of a society. The term is primarily used in archaeology and anthropology, but is also of interest to sociology, geography and history. The fie ...

, 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

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

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

s and regional variation. The codex itself shows an understanding of the history of Texcoco. It is also a document that includes an early instance of Nahuatl writings referencing specific dates in an indigenous calendar. There are ongoing debates regarding how many writers were involved in creating the codex. There are some debates that question how valid the codex is from an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

perspective. This debate roots itself in the work of Jeffrey Parsons in 1970s, with his book detailing the archaeology of the Texcoco region. One perspective on 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 and Cholula regions to support Parsons' position.

References

* Dibble, Charles E., (ed.) 1951. ''Códice Xolotl''. Mexico City: Publicaciones del Instituto de Historia. * *Ixtlilxochitl, Fernando de Alva. 1975. ''Obras históricas'', edited by Edmundo O'Gorman. 2 vols. Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas. *Mikulska, Katarzyna and Jerome A. Offner, eds. 2019. ''Graphic Communication Systems: A Theoretical Approach''. Louisville: University Press of Colorado. *Offner, Jerome A. 2016. "Ixtlilxochitl's Ethnographic Encounter: Understanding the Codex Xolotl and Its Dependent Alphabetic Texts." In ''Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl and His Legacy'', edited by Galen Brokaw and Jongsoo Lee, 77-121. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. *Offner, Jerome A. 2017. "Complex Glyphic Expression in the Corpus Xolotl." Paper presented at the First European Nahuatl Conference in Memory of James Lockhart, University of Warsaw, Poland, 17-18 November. *Offner, Jerome A. 2018. "Apuntes sobre la plancha X del Códice Xolotl: Cincuenta años más tarde." In ''El arte de escribir: El Centro de México del posclásico al siglo XVII'', trans by Agnieszka Brylak and edited by Juan José Batalla Rosado and Miguel Angel Ruz Barrio, 151-72. Zinacantepec, Mexico: El Colegio Mexiquense. *Offner, Jerome A. 2021 "Empires of Xolotl: Two Opening Compositions of the Codex Xolotl". ''

Ethnohistory Ethnohistory is the study of cultures and indigenous peoples customs by examining historical records as well as other sources of information on their lives and history. It is also the study of the history of various ethnic groups that may or may ...

'' 68:4 (October 2021). DOI 10.1215/00141801-9157201 *Szoblik, Katarzyna. 2019. "Traces of Orality in the Codex Xolotl, In ''Indigenous Graphic Communication Systems'', 204-09. Louisville: University Press of Colorado. *Thouvenot, Marc. 1987. "Codex Xolotl. Étude d'une des compasantes de son écriture: les glyphes. Dictionnaire des éléments constitutifs des glyphes." PhD diss. École des Hautes Études en Science Sociales, Paris. *Thouvenot, Marc. 2005. "Codex Xolotl. Dictionnaire des éléments constitutifs des anthroponmes et toponymes" *Woodward, Hayley. "The Codex Xolotl: The Visual Discourse of Place and History in Early Colonial Mexico. PhD dissertation, Tulane University 2023.

External links

High Definition scans of the codex at the French National Library

{{Authority control 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, death, misfortune, sickness, and deformities. Xolotl is the canin ...

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

See also

References

Further reading

External links