In this class we’ve talked about how Latin American culture is a

mix of Indigenous, African and European influences and how

that mix has developed varies depending on the particular region
of Latin America.
For example, in many
Caribbean countries
we find a strong
African influence on
culture and history
and in Mesoamerica
we find a strong and
still present
indigenous influence.

Brazilian Quilombolas during a meeting in the capital of Brazil, Brasília.

 Map of Mesoamerica

In this unit, we will be looking at Mesoamerican writing

systems in order to understand the role of writing in
ancient cultures in Latin America and to explore how the
interpretation of these texts can tell us about the past but
also about ourselves.
Some important facts about
Pre-colonial Mesoamerican
writing systems:
1. These writing systems are
the earliest form of writing
found in the Americas
2. They are the only writing
systems that were invented in
the Americas.
3. They reveal the complex and
stratified nature of indigenous
social systems before the
arrival of Europeans.
4. They were not primarily
about telling fictional narratives
like most of what we read in
literature classes, but consisted
of economic records, origin
stories and divinatory
calendars.
Before and after the
Spanish Conquest there
many different kinds of
languages and writing
styles that varied and
shifted and developed
going back before 1000
B.C.
Many of the languages
spoken before the arrival
of the Spanish still are in
use today.
Mesoamerica has had
and continues to have
great linguistic
diversity. Maya
languages are still
spoken by millions of
people, and Nahuatl,
the language of the
Aztecs, is still the
tongue of about 1
million.

Nahua woman from the florentine

codex. The Speech Scroll indicates
that she is speaking.
 CUENCA DE ALTIPLANO CENTRAL OAXACA VERACRUZ y Costa GUATEMALA
MEXICO & GUERRERO Costa Altiplano Sur del Golfo Costa Altiplano
1521
Arrival of
Europeans M I X T E C A – P U E B L A S T Y L E
Azteca
Mixteca

1000 TRADITION FROM THE CENTRAL ALTIPLANO

MAYA

500 TEOTIHUACAN
LATE
ÑUIÑE ZOQUEAN COTZUMALHUAPA

EARLY
0 ZOQUEAN

ZAPOTEC

2
ZAPOTECA MIRAFLORES
KAMINALJUYU SAN BARTOLO

500

3
San José Mogote M3

1000
1
OLMEC STYLE ICONOGRAPHY

Diagram showing development of` writing systems in Mesoamerica

Despite great language
diversity, phonetic systems
did not become the
dominant during
precolonial times. Instead
pictographs were the
dominant form of written
language. This may have
helped communication
between language groups
because the same pictures
were able to be
understood by people who
spoke different languages.
Reverse of folio 11 of the Codex Magliabechiano, showing the day signs Flint (knife),
Rain, Flower, and Crocodile.
 Elements 0f Precolonial Mesoamerican
Writing Systems:
1. Precolonial
Mesoamerican writing
was often done on
long accordion-style
books called codices.
• One book = codex.
• More that one =
codices
2. The codices are written
using pictographs or
symbols that included
counting symbols,
symbols for days in the
260 day and 365 day
calendars, and symbols
for various gods and
rulers.
• 3. Drawings were also
used to represent ideas
and common objects
and activities in the
daily pre-colonial life.
 Part 1: Decoding a Codex

Warm-Up: Students complete handout : Nahua Pictographic

Writing: Place Names
Boturini Codex
 Decoding Procedure:
 Students receive laminated color copies of
Sheet One of the Boturini Codex.
 Students identify any similar elements from the
previous worksheet that they see in the first
page of the codex.
 Ask if there are any other recognizable items in
the image? What do they think is happening in
the image?
 Students work in groups to develop a brief
explanation of what this codex is saying.
 Translation:
• On an island in a big lake there are seated two
members of royalty—a man and a woman ruler. They
were settled there where six houses stand. They were
seated where there is a main temple dedicated to One
Water Reeds Sprouting. From there departed a great
priest. He left in a canoe, rowing towards the shore
and headed toward a cave in the large hill. There in the
cave was Huizilopochtil, our Lord God. He had his altar
among the branches. He spoke and spoke and spoke
about the need to set out, on the need to leave and
the need to find another place to live. And all this,
what we are told, is drawn, it is reported, occurred in
the year one flint.
 The Unknown:
• What is the name of the island? Researchers
are not sure.
• Theory 1: The Aztecs left a place called One
Water Reed Sprouting. The place might have
the same name as the temple.
• Theory 2: The Aztecs left Aztlan. There is
some alphabetic writing that is barely legible
on the codex that indicates this might be the
case.
 Decoding the rest of the codex:
• Students sit in groups with laminated sections of
the codex attempt to decode what their section
of the codex is saying and to translate it into a
narrative.
• Each will also be given a “dictionary” handout
with some, but not all, of the elements from their
codex sheet on it. Students will then share their
attempts at interpretation and be given the
official interpretation to compare. What were
they right about and wrong about? And why?
Boturini Codex: Page 2
Boturini Codex: Sheet 3
Boturini Codex: Sheet 5
Boturini Codex: Sheet 14
 Part 2: Challenges of Interpretation
• 1. What makes a text difficult to interpret?
• Missing pieces of information (only having one
sheet of the codex)
• Lack of knowledge (knowing what some of the
symbols mean but not all of them)
• One’s own assumptions (placing your own ideas
and experiences on to someone else’s)
 Historical Examples of
Misinterpretation
1. Los Danzantes: These
large carved stone
monuments in Oaxaca
were long thought to be
dancing figures, but are
are now seen to clearly
represent tortured,
sacrificed war prisoners,
some identified by name,
and may depict leaders of
competing centers and
villages captured by
Monte Albán.
Historical Examples of Misinterpretation
2. The myth that
indigenous people
thought the Spanish
conquistadors were
“gods.” The word
“tueles” was used to
refer to the Spaniards
and can mean “gods” but
can also mean godlike,
fancy, powerful or large.
 The Body Ritual of the Nacirema
Sample from the text:
The focal point of the shrine is a box or chest which is built into
the wall. In this chest are kept the many charms and magical
potions without which no native believes he could live. These
preparations are secured from a variety of specialized
practitioners. The most powerful of these are the medicine
men, whose assistance must be rewarded with substantial
gifts.  However, the medicine men do not provide the curative
potions for their clients, but decide what the ingredients
should be and then write them down in an ancient and secret
language. This writing is understood only by the medicine men
and by the herbalists who, for another gift, provide the
required charm.
http://www.sociology.ohio-state.edu/classes/soc101/gassanov/Body%20Ritual%20of%20the%20Nacirema.pdf
 Part 3: Museum of the Future
• Scenario: You are an anthropologist in the year
3511 who must prepare an artifact to be
displayed in the upcoming exhibit “The Ancient
City of New York.” You must provide basic
information about your artifact, a detailed
description and an interpretation of the artifact’s
use and significance in the world of 21st century
New York City. You must prepare your
information on a plaque or “gloss” that will
accompany your artifact on display at the
opening of the exhibit in 2 days.
Possible Artifacts
 To Close the Unit:
Students view each other’s artifacts and
glosses during a classroom exhibit opening.
After the “reception” there is a reflection
session where students discuss important
observations they made of each other’s work
and the ways in which the act of
interpretation tells as much about the
interpreter as the object being interpreted.