THE "MAPA TLOTZIN" : PRECONQUEST HISTORY IN COLONIAL TEXCOCO

Author(s): Susan SPITLER

Source: Journal de la Société des américanistes , 1998, Vol. 84, No. 2, À propos de la
donation de la collection Aubin-Goupil à la Bibliothèque nationale de France: Acquis,
problèmes et perspectives dans l'étude des sources ethnohistoriques de l'ancien Mexique
(1998), pp. 71-81
Published by: Société des Américanistes

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24605872

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 THE MAPA TLOTZIN :

PRECONQUEST HISTORY IN COLONIAL TEXCOCO

Susan SPITLER *

The Mapa Tlotzin, although painted in the first half of the sixteenth Century, appears to
concern itself solely with the Preconquest past, and as such, traditionally has been consulted b
scholars interested in the Late Postclassic Valley of Mexico. While the manuscript may b
framed in terms of the Preconquest past, however, it in fact offers a great deal of information o
Colonial Texcoco. When we evalúate this manuscript anew, bolstered by recent scholarship th
demonstrates the continuity of native society, culture, and political struggles into the sixteen
Century, we gain a new understanding of the manuscript and its intent. The pain ter of the Mapa
Tlotzin manipulâtes the représentation of historical figures and events, to create an image of
Texcoco as the eternal political, social, and cultural center of the Acolhua région of the Valley
of Mexico.

Key Words : Acolhua, Aztec, cartographie history, Central Mexico, pictorial history, sixteenth
Century, Texcoco, Tlotzin.

La Mapa Tlotzin : histoire précolombienne dans le Texcoco colonial

La Mapa Tlotzin, bien que peinte dans la première moitié du xvie siècle, semble ne traiter que
du passé précolombien et, à ce titre, elle a été traditionnellement utilisée par les spécialistes du
Postclassique Récent de la vallée de Mexico. Pourtant, quoique ce manuscrit ait été composé
suivant les règles des documents précolombiens, il est riche d'informations sur le Texcoco
colonial. Le réexamen de ce manuscrit, à la lumière des acquis récents de la recherche qui ont
prouvé la continuité de la société indigène, de sa culture mais aussi des rivalités politiques au
xvie siècle, permet de renouveler la compréhension du sens de ce manuscrit et des objectifs
auxquels il répond. Le scribe qui a peint la Mapa Tlotzin arrange les personnages et les
événements historiques pour donner de Texcoco l'image du cœur éternel politique, social et
culturel de la région acolhua.

Mots Clés : Acolhua, aztèque, cartographie historique, Mexique central, histoire pictographi
que, xvie siècle, Texcoco.

* Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70 118 USA.

Journal de la Société des Américanistes 1998, 84-2 : p. 71 à 81. Copyright © Société des Américanistes

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72 JOURNAL DE LA SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES [84-2, 1998

El Mapa Tlotzin : historia prehispànica en el Texcoco colonial

El Mapa Tlotzin, aunque pintado en la primera mitad del siglo xvi, da la im

únicamente de asuntos prehispánicos. Por lo tanto, ha sido tradicionalment
especialistas del Posclásico Tardío del Valle de México. Este manuscrito, a pes
normas prehispánicas, contiene en realidad una cantidad importante de d
Texcoco colonial. Al examinar de nuevo dicho manuscrito tomando en cu
recientes que demostraron cómo la sociedad indígena, su cultura y sus con
internos se perpetuaron en el siglo xvi, se logra una nueva comprensión de es
los objetivos que persigue. El tlacuilo que hizo el Mapa Tlotzin utiliza rep
personajes y acontecimientos para dar de Texcoco la imagen del centro p
político, social y cultural, de la zona acolhua.

Palabras Claves : acolhua, azteca, cartografía histórica, México central, hist

siglo xvi, Texcoco.

Introduction

The Mapa Tlotzin (mex. 373) is a genealogical and historical manuscript cl

related both thematically and stylistically to two of the other Texcocan pictorials
at the Bibliothèque nationale, the Codex Xolotl and Mapa Quinatzin. The manus
is painted on a narrow strip of deer hide that measures 31,5 by 127,5 cm (Gla
Robertson 1975, p. 219). The painter employs a great deal of color, much of which
remains vibrant and creates a striking contrast against the unsized backgro
(Figure I, füll color). We know little of the circumstances of the manuscript'
tion ; it is possible to trace the manuscript back only as early as its ownership by
Diego Pimentel, a native noble and descendant of the Texcocan ruling dynas
(Aubin 1886, p. 304 ; Glass and Robertson 1975, p. 219). Given the principal su
matter of the manuscript (the ruling lineage of Texcoco), however, it is probable t
any previous owners and the original patrons were also royal descendants.
Although the Mapa Tlotzin was painted after the Conquest of Mexico, ther
much in the manuscript that seems to deny the Spanish presence. The manuscr
closely allied with purely native, Prehispanic modes of expression, with its exc
reliance on pictorial means of conveying information (the Nahuatl glosses are likel
later addition). The Texcocan « school » of manuscript painting, as defin
Donald Robertson (1994 [1959], p. 134), is notable for a strenger adheren
traditional modes of expression than is found in the stylistic « schools » of Te
titlan or Tlatelolco, and there is little overt evidence of European stylistic influen
the Mapa Tlotzin.
The historical content of the Mapa Tlotzin also seems to reflect a comple
unconcern with the Spanish. The majority of the events narrated in the manu
take place well before the Conquest, and although the final six Texcocan ru
pictured are Colonial, visually they are not distinguished in any way from Tex
Preconquest nobility. The narrative structure of the Mapa Tlotzin, its relianc
pictographic communication, and its apparent lack of concern with Colonial e
seem to imply that the manuscript deals solely with the Preconquest glory

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Spitler, S.] PRECONQUEST HISTORY IN COLONIAL TEXCOCO 73

Texcoco. A close analysis of the historical content and narrative structure proves the
Mapa Tlotzin is a consummately Colonial manuscript, and a rich source of informa
tion on Colonial Aztec culture and society.

Previous approaches to the Mapa Tlotzin

Scholars working on the ethnohistory of Mesoamerica usually choose for

one of the two obvious epochs of Mesoamerican history, the Prehispanic period o
Colonial period. Those who focus on the Prehispanic period search the docum
record for specific information to aid the reconstruction of Preconquest native c
As there are few Precolumbian manuscripts which survive, the only alternative i
use those Colonial documents which either claim to explain « how things were » (
as the cultural encyclopedias) or appear to be the most « purely » native —
Colonial pictorials, such as those of Texcoco. To date, most studies of the M
Tlotzin have been done by Prehispanic specialists.
Perhaps the first to use the Mapa Tlotzin as a documentary source is Fernando
Alva Ixtlilxochitl (1985), the mestizo historian and descendant of the Texcocan ru
who wrote his histories of the Preconquest Valley of Mexico in the mid-seven
Century. We know he relied heavily upon the Codex Xolotl (Gibson 1975, p
Dibble 1980, p. 9), but he also owned, and no doubt consulted, the Mapa Quin
and Mapa Tlotzin (Glass and Robertson 1975, pp. 184,219). Alva Ixtlilxochitl t
to the pictorials because he considered them a stronger authority on the pa
prose histories written by Spanish chroniclers, due to their proximity to the
described within (Alva Ixtlilxochitl 1985, p. 527). Alva Ixtlilxochitl accepted
factuality of these pictorials rather uncritically, as has been well document
ble 1980, pp. 9-10 ; Davies 1980, p. 42) ; he was unconcerned with the ways in
the past had been altered to serve contemporary needs.
In the nineteenth Century, Joseph Aubin turned his attentions to the Mapa T
and wrote the fundamental commentary on the manuscript (1886). As the
modern scholar to deal specifically with the manuscript, Aubin's primary con
with the interprétation of events, the identification of historical figures, a
transcription and translation of its glosses. Aubin views the Mapa Tlotz
pictorial analogue to prose histories, and like Alva Ixtlilxochitl, is concerned prim
with the narrative as a record of Preconquest events. With Aubin's commenta
springboard, Miguel León-Portilla (1969) has more recently used the Mapa Tlo
a source for a problem-oriented study, again embedded in the Preconquest, to
the reconstruction of a Prehispanic contact situation — the late Postclassic meetin
Chichimecs and Toltecs.
In recent decades, scholars have begun to reexamine the Colonial period and the
dynamics of the Spanish colonization of Mexico. The traditional view of the Colonial
period was of a general, widespread demise of native cultural elements under the
weight of European influence {i.e. Kubier 1961, Robertson 1994 [1959]). However, the
process of colonization is being revealed as much more complex, in some cases more
subtle (or insidious), and in ail cases, more uneven, than previously thought (Harvey
and Prem 1984, p. 9 ; Liebsohn 1996, pp. 502-503). It is now strongly apparent that

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74 JOURNAL DE LA SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES [84-2, 1998

Colonial native society, culture, and even politics experienced a fair amount of
continuity with the past. Scholars have turned their attention to the process of
acculturation and the interaction of Spanish and native ways of thinking and modes
of expression (i.e. Mignolo 1995 ;Gruzinski 1989, with his idea of the colonization of
the imaginaire ; Liebsohn 1996). Such studies point out the active role native Mexi
cans took in the cultural innovations that mark Colonial native culture.
Our study of the Mapa Tlotzin can benefit enormously from this réévaluation of
the Colonial period. Although seemingly dealing with Preconquest history, this
manuscript illustrâtes two aspects of the early Colonial period quite well. First, the
Mapa Tlotzin, with its very préoccupation with native ethnicity, history, culture, and
politics, reinforces our understanding of the vitality of native noble society for a time
after the Conquest. Second, and related to the first, it allows us to see some of the
innovations the native elite attempted in the process of maintaining that culture.

Narrative structure and content

As the Mapa Tlotzin narrates primarily pre-Contact events, we will here take
moments to go through that narrative, highlighting key portions. At certain poin
painter alters Texcoco's past — there are certain facts contained within th
Tlotzin which do not agree with what is known, and accepted, about Texcocan his
from other sources. In such cases, it is possible to understand the painter'
patron's motivations for these altérations if we take the manuscript's Colonial co
into account.
The format of the Mapa Tlotzin is quite clear and elegant. The communities and
rulers most important to Texcocan history are lined up across the middle of the
manuscript, arranged in a tableau of places and rulers centered on Texcoco (seen in
Figure III). The history that precedes the foundation of these communities and
informs their identities flows around and brackets this central portion. The manus
cript opens with a migration, a touchstone of Texcocan history (Figure II). In the
leftmost section of the document, a band of Chichimecs (hunter-gatherers from the
région north of the Valley of Mexico) walks south through the wilderness. The
migrants are : Amacui, identified by a sheet of amatl, or paper (Aubin 1886, p. 309) ;
Nopaltzin, identified by the nopal cactus ; Tlotzin, identified by an eagle's head ; and
three women, the men's wives. Ail are dressed in animal hides and wear their hair long
and unkempt, the quintessential cultural markers of Chichimecs. The men also carry
their bows and arrows, reinforcing their identity. The vignette shown in the cave above,
Tzinacanoztoc (named by the bat at the top of the cave), foreshadows things to come.
Seated inside the cave, we see a Chichimec man who has begun the process of
Mesoamericanization, the acculturation of the Chichimecs to the ways of the Toltecs,
the established inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico. He is identifiable as a Chichimec
by his bow and arrow and his long hair ; however, he now wears the white cotton
mantle of the Toltecs. He is married to a Toltec woman (identifiable by her hairstyle
and white cotton huipil and skirt), and they have a baby. This scene marks the
beginning of the cultural intermarriages that provide the later Texcocan ruling
dynasty with the dual héritage, Toltec and Chichimec, that bolsters their claims to the
right to rule.

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Spitler, S.] PRECONQUEST HISTORY IN COLONIAL TEXCOCO 75

The narrative continues at the second site depicted, Cuauhyacac (a tree with a
human nose, to the right of the cave), where the six migrants are shown seated inside
the cave, marking a stop on their migration into the Acolhua région (Figures II-III).
After this, the band breaks up and populates the three Acolhua communities in the
manuscript (Aubin 1886, p. 309), from left to right (Figures III-V) : Oztoticpac/
Texcoco (identified by both a white banner and a pot atop a hill), Huexotla (the willow
tree), and Coatlichan (a snake emerging from a cave). Tlotzin and his wife are shown
seated inside the cave at Oztoticpac. The rest of the manuscript is concerned with the
Mesoamericanization of the Texcocan Chichimecs and their political and dynastie
history.
Interrupted by the genealogical tableau of the central portion, the narrative
resumes above the site of Coatlichan, and continues across the top of the manuscript
to the right margin (Figure V). These scenes narrate the acculturation of Tlotzin and
his wife. Above Coatlichan, a Toltec priest cooks meat over a fire for Tlotzin and his
wife and exposes them to maize-based foods, aiding Tlotzin as he drinks from a bowl
of atolli. Along the right margin, the same Toltec priest présents Tlotzin and his wife
to three other Toltec figures. Each of these sets of vignettes is accompanied by the
white banner seen at the site of Oztoticpac, perhaps indicating that, although pictured
elsewhere in the manuscript, the events described took place at that site. The rightmost
cave is unnamed ; Aubin suggests it is Tlallanoztoc (1886, p. 306). It seems unlikely the
painter would omit the name glyph of a site in a place-based history, however, and
perhaps the site is Oztoticpac itself, with the white banner (at the top margin) serving
to identify it. The narrative begun above Coatlichan reaches its conclusion in this
cave ; Tlotzin's wife is seated within the cave with the child Quinatzin (named by
Tlotzin below), who will perpetúate the Texcocan ruling lineage.
The emphasis on Chichimec roots and « rags to riches » histories is due to their
appeal as a sort of status symbol among native Central Mexican groups (Davies 1980,
pp. 85-86). In tandem with this pride in ancestry is the pride in having learned
Mesoamerican ways. By this acquisition of Mesoamerican culture, the Texcocans
prove themselves fit to be rulers in Mesoamerica. The Mapa Tlotzin demonstrates that
these elements of the Texcocan past still had resonance and significance for Colonial
native nobility.
The préoccupation with political affairs takes over at this point ; the painter here
indicates the social and political relationships among six native communities. The first
three communities are Oztoticpac/Texcoco, Huexotla, and Coatlichan. The remaining
three communities are shown inverted along the bottom margin (right to left) :
Culhuacan (the curved hill), Tenochtitlan (the nopal growing from a stone), and
Azcapotzalco (an ant in a circle of sand). The painter draws two major distinctions
among the six sites, one based on cultural héritage and the other on political status.
The Acolhua communities (Texcoco, Huexotla, and Coatlichan) are distinguished
from the non-Acolhua sites by the use of caves. These caves remind the viewer of the
communities'shared origin story and history, founded by Chichimecs who emerged
from Chicomoztoc and migrated into the Valley of Mexico. The non-Acolhua sites are
identified only by their place names, since they do not share the same antecedents. The
painter thus clearly shows the viewer the distinction between « us » and « them. » In
addition, the three non-Acolhua sites are quite literally peripheral to the Texcocan
story here presented, pressed against the lower margin of the manuscript.

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76 JOURNAL DE LA SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES [84-2, 1998

The second distinction is based on rule by tlatoani. Only three of the s

figures seated on the straw throne, Texcoco, Culhuacan, and Tenocht
zalco has no ruler whatsoever, having been defeated and destroyed as a co
the Acolhua and Mexica in 1428. Importantly, of the three communities w
only one, Texcoco, is Acolhua. The painter clearly asserts that Texcoco is
center of the Acolhua région ; Huexotla and Coatlichan are its subord
both Huexotla and Coatlichan were independent political centers in th
period, each under its own tlatoani (Gibson 1964, p. 52).
Spanish Colonial administrative practices and an event of the mi
Century shed light on this discrepancy. Native towns were classed by
either cabecera towns or sujeto towns based on their Prehispanic polit
those towns under their own tlatoque became cabecera towns, while town
subordínate during the Preconquest period remained so in the Colo
several cases, the native nobility tried to take advantage of the polit
confusion following the Spanish Conquest and better their commun
status. Texcoco was one community that did so. In 1551, Texcoco
campaign to reclaim territory it claimed to have lost after Mexico's d
Texcoco sought to reincorpórate several towns of the Acolhua région, but
Huexotla in particular as a former subordinate that had been (wrongly) t
Spanish as an independent town. Texcoco attempted to define the r
between itself and Huexotla as one of cabecera to sujeto by claimin
relationship during the Precolumbian period (Gibson 1964, pp. 51 -52), an
proposed relationship illustrated in the Mapa Tlotzin. Other sources
Huexotla was ruled by tlatoque ; Aubin points out the painter's error
dino de Sahagún as a source that indicates Huexotla's rule by « kings »
p. 318). In the 1551 case, Huexotla countered Texcoco's claims by asse
history of rule by direct descent ; however, despite these efforts, Texcoc
won its claim, so that Huexotla was (temporarily) reduced to sujeto
son 1964, p. 52).
Preconquest political relationships among the communities of Tex
were complex, comprised of the interrelations of fourteen communities
own tlatoani. As part of the Triple Alliance, Texcoco did in fact wield a g
power ; however, the authority it wielded over other communities was d
the authority wielded by Colonial cabecera towns over sujeto towns
p. 52). The painter of the Mapa Tlotzin is not interested in presenting th
these relationships, however. Instead, he simplifies and manipulâtes
tions of Preconquest relationships in order to assert Texcoco's unam
nance of the Acolhua realm, both in the Prehispanic period and the C
This manuscript, although seeming to concern itself only with how thing
serves as a charter for how things should be.
Texcoco's king list présents another fiction to the viewer (Figure I
records an unbroken chain of rulers, each directly descended by bl
founder of Texcoco, Tlotzin. The reign of Nezahualcoyotl (the fifth figur
top of the list) marks a clear change in Texcoco's political standing ; h
Texcocan ruler to sit in the icpalli. He is credited with the defeat of t
Azcapotzalco, and his reign marks the beginning of Texcoco's increasing a

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Spitler, S.] PRECONQUEST HISTORY IN COLONIAL TEXCOCO 77

a member of the Triple Alliance. Interestingly, although both he and Nezahualpilli are
completely Mesoamericanized (bearing the proper Toltec hairstyle and white cotton
mantle), they still carry their bows and arrows, to remind the viewer of their Chichi
mec ancestry.
As we are interested in Colonial Texcoco, it is the final six rulers who are of
particular importance here. These six men are Nezahualpilli's sons (from right to
left) : Cacama, Coanacochtli, Tecocoltzin, Ixtlilxochitl, Yoyontzin, and Tetlahue
huetzquititzin. The painter indicates that each of the six succeeded the other in
occupying the icpalli. Visually, we are presented with a regular progression from one
ruler to the next, implying an orderly succession. In fact, this period was marked by a
great deal of conflict. Nezahualpilli had died without designating an heir, and three of
his sons were deemed eligible for the position, Cacama, Coanacochtli, and Ixtlilxo
chitl. The other rulers of the Acolhua région selected Cacama as the best successor.
Ixtlilxochitl, however, had his own ambitions to rule Texcoco, and rebelled against his
brother. Ultimately, the two brothers divided the Texcocan realm between them (with
Cacama sharing the rents of his provinces with Coanacochtli) and governed their
portions simultaneously (Hicks 1994, pp. 235-236). Unlike the painter of the Codex
Xolotl who carefully narrates the many trials and tribulations of Nezahualcoyotl as he
tries to regain the Texcocan throne, the painter of the Mapa Tlotzin is not interested in
telling the stories of Texcoco's rulers. What is important here is that Cacama,
Ixtlilxochitl, and (in at least a limited capacity) Coanacochtli ail wielded authority.
It is here that we may see Spanish influence entering the manuscript. While the
Aztecs considered both brothers and sons eligible to succeed a tlatoani, the Spanish
held that the right to rule was inherited by direct descent — a legitímate ruler was the
(legitímate) son of the previous ruler. The simplified format of the Mapa Tlotzin's king
list may be the painter's version of the Spanish legal phrase por línea recta (« in a direct
line »). It seems likely this type of simplified and streamlined genealogy was a
Postconquest innovation, used by native nobility to demónstrate to the Spanish their
long histories of continuous, unbroken rule by legitímate rulers (Smith and Parmen
ter 1991 :20). In accordance with the notion of direct descent, it would not be possible
to represent contemporaneous rule by several brothers, and perhaps this is why the six
final rulers are depicted in the same fashion as their predecessors. In addition, while
arguing claims to rights and privilèges towards former tlatoani sites (politically
independent and dominant communities under the rule of their own tlatoque), it
would not be in the best interest of the Texcocan nobility to indicate any fracture
points in their history.
The Acolhua king list that appears in Book 8 of the Florentine Codex présents yet
another version of Texcoco's dynastie succession. In contrast with the painter of the
Mapa Tlotzin, the author of this list does refer to the many political and military
conflicts that affected the Texcocan rulers. The author explicitly refers to the Tepanec
War preceding Nezahualcoyotl's reign, and pins the foundation of the « seat of
authority of Acolhuacan or Texcoco » to the conclusion of this event (Sahagún, 1954,
p. 9). The author also marks the arrivai of the Spanish during the reign of Cacama, as
well as their subséquent role in Texcocan politics (ibid., pp. 10-11). As in the Mapa
Tlotzin, however, the conflicts among Cacama, Ixtlilxochitl, and Coanacochtli are
downplayed. The sole indication is an oblique reference to the Marquis and Coana

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78 JOURNAL DE LA SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES [84-2, 1998

cochtli setting the affairs of Texcoco « in order » (ibid., p. 10). What this list has in
common with the painted list found in the Mapa Tlotzin is that it too uses Texcoco's
history and its succession of rulers to argue a point. Despite the references to military
conflicts, this author intends, as does the painter of the Mapa Tlotzin, to stress the
continuity of rulership in Texcoco. The author ends the king list with the assertion
that, political and military conflicts aside, there has been an unbroken succession of
thirteen rulers (ail identified as tlatoque, whether Preconquest or Colonial) whose
reigns span a total of 304 years (ibid., p. 11).
Perhaps the greatest fiction presented by the painter of the Mapa Tlotzin is the
représentation of these final rulers with the clothing and accouterments of Precon
quest tlatoque. Hernando Cortés arrived in and conquered Mexico during the reigns
of Cacama and Ixtlilxochitl, undeniably altering its political situation. Only the
glosses, however, mention the arrivai of Cortés and the Conquest (Aubin 1886,
p. 315), and not even the glosses indicate the impact of the Spanish arrivai on the
Texcocan rulers. There is no indication, for example, that the Conquest furthered the
divide between Texcoco's rulers — Cacama fought against Cortés while Ixtlilxochitl
fought for him (Hicks 1994, p. 236).
The painter depicts each of Nezahualpilli's sons as a Preconquest tlatoani, and
visually, at least, the painter seems to suggest that the rights and duties of these six
Colonial rulers were identical to those of the Preconquest rulers of Texcoco. The
Spanish did give special rights and privilèges as well as certain political positions to
native nobles, but their political role indisputably had changed, and so we must pause
to consider the use of traditional iconography of rulership, given this changed
context. The Mapa Tlotzin reflects a continued concern on the part of native nobility
with social and political events carried out entirely within the native sphere. This
manuscript does not not illustrate the ways in which the role of tlatoani had changed
due to the Spanish Conquest, but instead the legacy of the title and the significance it
still held within the native social sphere. Dana Liebsohn (1994) has argued that in
Colonial Cuauhtinchan, a streng concern with the ethnie, social, and political iden
tities and relationships among native communities, rather than between native com
munities and the Spanish, continued and is evidenced in the community's cartogra
phie histories. All three of the Texcocan pictorial histories indicate a similar interest in
the Texcocan ethnie, social, and political identity as defined by its contrast with other
native communities. As the Mapa Tlotzin indicates, there is a clear cultural différence
between the Texcocans (as Acolhua) and the Mexica or the Culhua. Native identities
and ethnie, political, and cultural distinctions have not been negated by the political
restrueturing of the Spanish.
Texcoco's Preconquest past retains its importance in the early Colonial period
because it continues to define who the Texcocans are in the present. It is this shared
past that defines Texcoco, a past presented both in the anecdotal vignettes surroun
ding Texcoco and in its unbroken succession of rulers. Colonial Texcocans are still
Texcocans ; they are still the descendants of a wandering band of Chichimecs who
migrated to Texcoco under Tlotzin and remained there throughout the political shifts
and changes of the Preconquest period and the Colonial period. The painter relies on
traditional native iconography and modes of expression to convey most forcefully this
sense of continuity.

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Spitler, S.] PRECONQUEST HISTORY IN COLONIAL TEXCOCO 79

Eternal Texcoco

The Mapa Tlotzin is a place-based history ; it structures the historical narrat

locating events at the places of their occurrence. This organizing principie priv
space and location at the expense of other organizational elements, particularly
Absolute chronology is of no conséquence to the painter of the Mapa Tlotzi
is, of course, a sense of sequential time expressed in the king lists, in w
understand that moving down one figure in the king list entails moving forward
by one génération. This leaves room for much ambiguity, however, as seen in t
of the final six Texcocan tlatoque.
The relationship among the ruler lists of différent communities further ob
any sense of chronological consistency. Both Culhuacan (Figure V) and Teno
(Figure IV) have tlatoque depicted, but these are highly selective représen
depicting only one out of the many rulers at each site, and recording just a fra
each community's history. The painter of the Mapa Tlotzin portrays Coxcox
of Culhuacan, and Huitzilhuitl as ruler of Tenochtitlan (Aubin 1886, p. 308)
tingly, these two rulers are not contemporaries of each other — each communi
been presented at a différent point in time, as a reconciliation with Texcoco's k
demonstrates. Coxcox ruled Culhuacan during the reign of Quinatzin (Tlotz
named by a braying deer) at Texcoco, while Huitzilhuitl ruled Tenochtitlan duri
reign of Techotlalatzin (Quinatzin's heir, named by stone spouting water an
head) (Dibble 1980 : map 4 and map 5). There is no transparent explanation
selection of Coxcox and Huitzilhuitl as représentatives of these two comm
although it is presumable their reigns held some significance for Texcocan hist
reason for portraying Azcapotzalco as an empty site seems quite apparent, h
The painter chose to record its political situation during the reign of Nezahualc
after the Tepanec defeat. This event is significant in Texcoco's history, as it ma
beginning of Texcoco's true independence and rise to power.
These selective représentations indicate that the painter is telescoping events
Mapa Tlotzin. Historical events are fitted together within a narrative not gover
chronology, but instead by the enduring significance of particular places and r
lack thereof). Elizabeth Boone observes that at certain points in the Codex Xolo
place-based), « Time becomes so ambiguous that it does indeed seem as if ev
is happening at once ; simultaneity dominâtes over sequence » (1994, p. 6
observation also applicable to the Mapa Tlotzin. While the narrative is sea
linked in terms of location, it is fractured and prismatic in terms of time. The
presented by the Mapa Tlotzin is a panoramic snapshot, but it is one that is car
constructed. The painter has created a static tableau that présents Texcoco not i
favorable moment, but in a montage of such moments.
Texcoco is a long-enduring Preconquest (and Colonial) political center, d
in its région. The lack of dates does not allow the viewer easily to limit T
power and prestige to a particular period of time. The painter makes a décl
beginning with Nezahualcoyotl, Texcoco reigned supreme in its région, a
supremacy, although fundamentally affected by the Spanish, was not negated b
presence. As has been documented in court cases (Gibson 1964, pp. 51-52),

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80 JOURNAL DE LA SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES [84-2, 1998

did continue in its attempts to retain (or create) the Prehispanic socia
relationships expressed in the Mapa Tlotzin.
The Mapa Tlotzin is a vivid démonstration of the ambiguities of e
Mexico. At first glance, it appears to be interpretable as a rather str
continuation of the Preconquest historical tradition ; it even appears to c
solely with the distant past of Texcoco. The painter's décision to ren
Colonial rulers as Preconquest tlatoque further masks the Texcocan co
contemporary political situation. In both style and historical content
belies the Colonial nature of his création.

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