Course Description
Of the thousands of pre-Columbian books produced, only a handful have survived to the present day, all of which shed a bright light on the history, language, and book production methods and techniques of the Aztecs and the Maya. This class will introduce the Mesoamerican Codex both as a physical and cultural object. By discussing not only the construction, material make-up, and pigments of the codices, but also by considering broader cultural questions regarding their languages, iconography, and provenance, students can begin to understand how these books functioned within indigenous societies and how they were perceived by Europeans during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Students will examine critically the latest scientific and imaging research on the Maya Codices from Madrid, Paris, and Dresden, and will also look closely at the hieroglyphic writing and painted iconography. All extant Maya codices are believed to have been painted in the Late Post-Classic period, from 1250 to 1520, but many of iconographic themes can be found on earlier ceramics dating from 400 to 800 CE. A comparison of some of the themes painted by Maya scribes on the codices with those found on archaeological objects in the Jay I. Kislak Collection at the Library of Congress will occupy part of the course. Turning to later manuscripts, students will examine the Oztoticpac Lands Map (1539), and the Huexotzinco Codex (1531), two of the most important primary source Nahua documents in the collections of the Library of Congress, which have survived from the early contact period. In discussing the construction of these two important manuscripts, students will enter into the current debates regarding the pictorial nature of Nahua writing and its relationship to language and will examine other manuscripts, like the Mapa Quinatzin, the Codex Xolotl and Codex Borbonicus. There are no prerequisites for the class outside of an interest in the history of the early Americas, archaeology, and book production during both pre-Columbian and the early contact periods. In their personal statements, applicants should describe the nature of their interest in the history of the book, archaeology, or Mesoamerican cultures, their expectations of the course, and the purposes to which they propose to put the knowledge gained from their participation.Faculty
John Hessler
When not climbing in the Alps or searching through ruins in Central America, John Hessler is curator of the Jay I. Kislak Collection of the Archaeology and History of the …
Advance Reading List
Required Readings
Please note: books and articles marked with an asterisk are the most critical. Students admitted to this course will receive further instructions for accessing these readings.
Books & Chapters
* Douglas, Eduardo de J. In the Palace of Nezahualcoyotl: Painting Manuscripts, Writing the pre-Hispanic Past in Early Colonial Period Tetzcoco, Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2010.
* Kerpel, Diana Magaloni. The Colors of the New World: Artists, Materials, and the Creation of the Florentine Codex. Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute, 2014.
Keber, Eloise. “Reading Images: The Making and Meaning of the Sahaguntine Illustrations.” In The Work of Bernardino de Sahagún: Pioneer Ethnographer of Sixteenth-Century Aztec Mexico, edited by J. Jorge Klor de Alva et al. Albany: Institute for Mesoamerican Studies, 1988.
Peterson, Jeanette Favrot. “The Florentine Codex Imagery and the Colonial Tlacuilo.” In The Work of Bernardino de Sahagún: Pioneer Ethnographer of Sixteenth-Century Aztec Mexico, edited by J. Jorge Klor de Alva et al. Albany: Institute for Mesoamerican Studies, 1988.
Articles
* Buti, D., et.al. “Non-invasive Investigation of a pre-Hispanic Maya Screenfold Book: The Madrid Codex.” Journal of Archaeological Science 42 (2014): 166–178.
Carmen Jorge, María del, Barbara J. Williams, C.E. Garza-Hume and Arturo Olvera. “Mathematical Accuracy of Aztec Land Surveys Assessed from the Records in the Codex Vergara.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 108 (September 2011): 15053–15057.
Carter, Nicholas P. and Jeffery Dobereiner. “Multispectral Imaging of an Early Classic Maya Codex Fragment from Uaxactun, Guatemala.” Antiquity 90 (2016): 711–725.
Coe, Michael, Stephen Houston, Mary Miller and Karl Taube. “The Fourth Maya Codex.” Maya Archaeology 3 (2015): 116–167.
Miliani, C., et.al. “Colouring Materials of pre-Columbian Codices: Non-invasive in situ Spectroscopic Analysis of the Codex Cospi.” Journal of Archaeological Science 39:3 (March 2012): 672–679.
* Rossi, Franco D., William A. Saturno and Heather Hurst. “Maya Codex Book Production and the Politics of Expertise: Archaeology of a Classic Period Household at Xultun, Guatemala.” American Anthropologist 117:1 (2015): 116–132.
* Snijders, Ludo, Tim Zaman, and David Howell. “Using Hyperspectral Imaging to Reveal a Hidden Precolonial Mesoamerican Codex.” Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 9 (October 2016): 143–149.
Stanley, Ted. “Non-invasive Spectroscopic Investigation of a Sixteenth-Century Polychrome Aztec Picture Map on Deerskin.” Restaurator: International Journal for the Preservation of Library and Archival Material 36 (2015): 183–210.
* Vail, Gabrielle. “The Maya Codices.” Annual Review of Anthropology 35 (2006): 497–519.
Zender, Mark. “One Hundred and Fifty Years of Nahuatl Decipherment.” PARI Journal 8:4 (Spring 2008): 24–37.
Recommended Readings
Coe, Michael. The Art of the Maya Scribe. New York: Harry Abrams, 1998.
Houston, Stephen, et.al. Veiled Brightness: A History of Ancient Maya Color. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2009.
Maffie, James. Aztec Philosophy: Understanding a World in Motion. Denver: University of Colorado Press, 2015.
Robertson, Donald. Mexican Manuscript Painting of the Early Colonial Period: The Metropolitan Schools. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
Course Evaluations
Course History
- 2017–
John Hessler teaches this course for the first time.