San Juan Tolcayuca, Mexico. Aztec, seventeenth century.
Manuscript map on amatl (fig-tree bark paper).
Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress (89)
Techialoyan Land Record
Because the Spaniards annihilated the Aztec civilization and burned its archives, surviving examples of Indian codices are rare. This manuscript and map are part of the Techialoyan land records created in the seventeenth century using old methods to substantiate native land claims with the Spanish authorities. This map contains indigenous cartographic conventions that differ considerably from those of Europe. For example, one must rotate it for proper viewing. The bell-shapes denote a community, and the trail of footprints depicts a path or road. Documents like these portray the legitimacy of a local community and its rights to a territory.