Hidden codex may reveal secrets of life in Mexico before Spanish conquest

[MADem]

Hi-tech imaging has revealed exceptionally rare manuscript overlaid by 16th-century deerhide document held at Oxford University

The codex is one of fewer than 20 dating from before or just after the colonisation, which were saved by scholars who realised the importance of the strip cartoon-like images, a complex system that used symbols, stylised human figures and colours to recount centuries of history and beliefs, including religious practice, wars, the founding of cities and the genealogy of noble families.

One Spanish witness of the destruction wrote that people were distraught to see their books – and their history – burn, anguished “to an amazing degree, and which caused them much affliction”. Of those known to have escaped the bonfires, the Bodleian had five, the largest group in the world – and now it has six.

Scholars at the Bodleian and the universities of Leiden and Delft, in the Netherlands, are still analysing the newly revealed images, but believe they are unique, a previously unknown genealogy that may help unlock the history of archaeology sites in southern Mexico.

Some of the pages have more than 20 characters sitting or standing, similar to other Mixtec manuscripts – from the Oaxaca region of modern Mexico – which are believed to depict kings and their councils, but uniquely in this case depicting men and women. One so far unidentified figure appears repeatedly, and is symbolised by a twisted cord and a flint knife.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/21/hidden-codex-reveals-secrets-of-life-in-mexico-before-spanish-conquest

Since America (North/Central/South) encompasses half a hemisphere, I thought this group was as good a place as any for this rather significant discovery.