The modern study of Mexica civilization depends on a remarkable corpus of sources, ranging from pre-conquest codices to Spanish colonial chronicles, from archaeological excavations at Tenochtitlan and other sites to modern linguistic and ethnohistorical research. The sources are diverse in character, in language, in perspective, and in reliability, and they require careful interpretation by scholars trained in the methods of Mesoamerican studies. Yet despite these difficulties, the sources are remarkably rich, and they provide a detailed picture of Mexica civilization that few other pre-modern cultures can match. The most important sources include the Codex Mendoza, the Codex Boturini, the Florentine Codex, the chronicles of Bernal Díaz del Castillo and Francisco López de Gómara, and the work of indigenous chroniclers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Pre-Conquest Codices
The pre-conquest codices were folding screenfold books made of bark paper, deer hide, or maguey fiber, and they were the principal means by which the Mexica recorded historical, religious, and administrative information. The codices combined pictographic and phonetic elements, and they could represent complex information in a relatively compact form. The most important surviving pre-conquest codices include the Codex Boturini (Tira de la Peregrinación), which records the Mexica migration from Aztlan to Tenochtitlan; the Codex Aubin, which records Mexica history from the migration to the Spanish conquest; and various tribute lists, ritual calendars, and divinatory books.
Most of the pre-conquest codices were destroyed by the Spanish in the sixteenth century, in the campaigns of evangelization that followed the conquest. The Spanish, suspicious of the religious content of the codices and eager to suppress the old religion, destroyed thousands of codices and other indigenous texts. The surviving pre-conquest codices are therefore relatively few, and they are among the most precious documents of pre-Columbian America.
The Codex Mendoza
The Codex Mendoza ranks among the most important surviving documents of Mexica civilization. It was prepared in the early 1540s, probably in the city of Mexico, by indigenous artists and writers who were working under the direction of Spanish friars. The codex is named after Antonio de Mendoza, the first Viceroy of New Spain, who commissioned it. The codex is divided into three sections: a history of the Mexica from the migration to the conquest, a list of the tribute paid by the subject provinces, and a description of Mexica daily life and customs.
The history section of the Codex Mendoza records the Mexica rulers, the conquests of the empire, and the major events of Mexica history. The tribute section records the goods that each province was required to deliver, with pictographic representations of the goods and the amounts. The daily life section records the customs, the education, and the social structure of the Mexica. The codex is now in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and it is one of the best-studied documents in the field of Mesoamerican studies.
The Codex Boturini
The Codex Boturini, also known as the Tira de la Peregrinación, is a pictorial account of the Mexica migration from Aztlan to Tenochtitlan. The codex takes the form of a long strip, divided into a series of pictures that represent the major events of the migration. The codex was probably prepared in the early colonial period, and it reflects the oral traditions of the Mexica. The codex is now in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
The Codex Boturini is the principal visual source for the Mexica migration, and it provides valuable information about the route, the timing, and the major events of the migration. The codex shows the Mexica traveling from Aztlan through a series of stops, with Huitzilopochtli in his various forms guiding the journey. The codex is particularly important for the early period of the migration, when no written sources exist.
The Florentine Codex
The Florentine Codex is the most comprehensive single source on Mexica civilization, and it is one of the great achievements of the early colonial period. The codex was compiled by the Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún, who worked with a team of indigenous collaborators over a period of more than thirty years. The codex was completed in 1577, and it is now preserved in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence, from which it takes its name.
The Florentine Codex is a twelve-book encyclopedia of Mexica culture, written in both Nahuatl and Spanish. The codex covers a wide range of topics, including the gods and religious rituals, the calendar and astronomy, the rituals and divination, the social and political structure, the economy and trade, the poetry and oratory, the animals and plants, and the conquest and its aftermath. The codex is based on interviews with elderly Mexica informants who remembered the pre-conquest past, and it provides a detailed and nuanced picture of Mexica life.
The Florentine Codex is particularly important for the indigenous perspective on Mexica civilization. While the codex was compiled by a Spanish friar, it was based on the testimony of Mexica informants, and it preserves many details of Mexica life that would otherwise have been lost. The codex includes extensive quotations in Nahuatl, with Spanish translations, and it provides a unique record of the Mexica language, religion, and customs.
The Spanish Chroniclers
The Spanish chroniclers were the European writers who recorded the history of the conquest and the early colonial period. The most important of these chroniclers were Hernán Cortés himself, whose letters to Charles V provide a first-person account of the conquest; Bernal Díaz del Castillo, whose Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España is one of the great works of Spanish colonial literature; Francisco López de Gómara, whose Historia general de las Indias was influential in shaping the European view of the conquest; and Bernardino de Sahagún, whose work is discussed above.
Bernal Díaz del Castillo is particularly important because he was a soldier in the conquest, and he provides a vivid and often critical account of the events. His history was written in response to the more flattering accounts of López de Gómara, and it is a corrective to the heroic narrative of the conquest. Díaz’s account emphasizes the contributions of the indigenous allies, particularly the Tlaxcalans, and it provides a more nuanced view of the conquest than the official Spanish accounts.
The Indigenous Chroniclers
The indigenous chroniclers were Mexica and other Nahua writers who recorded the history and culture of their people in the colonial period. The most important of these writers include Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, a descendant of the royal family of Texcoco; Domingo Francisco de San Antón Muñón Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin, a historian from Chalco; Hernando de Alvarado Tezozomoc, a descendant of the Mexica ruling family; and the anonymous authors of various codices, including the Codex Aubin and the Codex Telleriano-Remensis.
These indigenous writers provide a perspective on Mexica history that complements and sometimes contradicts the Spanish sources. They emphasize the legitimacy of the indigenous ruling families, the importance of the pre-conquest past, and the continuity of indigenous culture in the colonial period. Their works are now considered to be essential sources for the study of Mexica civilization, and they are the subject of an active scholarly literature.
The Sources and Their Limitations
The sources on Mexica civilization are rich and diverse, but they also have important limitations. The Spanish sources are biased by the perspective of the conquerors, and they often present the indigenous peoples in a stereotyped way. The indigenous sources are biased by their own political and social agendas, and they often present a more favorable view of the indigenous past than is warranted by the evidence. The archaeological evidence is fragmentary and difficult to interpret, and it often raises more questions than it answers.
Modern scholars have developed a range of methods for dealing with these limitations. They compare the various sources against each other, looking for points of agreement and disagreement. They use linguistic evidence to identify common origins and developments. They use archaeological evidence to test the claims of the written sources. They use ethnographic comparison to understand the cultural context of the sources. The result is a rich and nuanced picture of Mexica civilization that continues to evolve as new evidence and new methods become available.
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See also:
- What are the Aztec codices and what do they contain? — the pre-conquest documents
- Who were the Spanish chroniclers who documented Aztec history? — the European writers
- What is the Florentine Codex? — Sahagún’s great work
- Writing, Glyphs, and Codices — the Mexica writing system
- History of the Aztec Civilization — the broader historical context
- Aztec Society and Daily Life — the social context of the sources