Codices

Definition

Codices are handwritten books or manuscripts, typically from pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas. They served as important records, histories, and repositories of knowledge for indigenous cultures prior to European contact and colonization.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Codices were often made from bark paper, deerskin, or other durable materials and were folded into accordion-like formats.
2. The content of codices varied, including calendars, astronomical data, religious rituals, historical records, and depictions of rulers and important events.
3. Many codices were destroyed by Spanish conquistadors and missionaries during the colonial era, leading to the loss of valuable cultural and historical information.
4. Surviving codices, such as the Codex Mendoza and the Codex Borbonicus, provide invaluable insights into the sophisticated societies and knowledge systems of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.
5. The study of codices has been crucial for understanding the social, political, and religious structures of indigenous American civilizations, including the Aztec, Maya, and Mixtec cultures.

Review Questions

• Describe the physical characteristics and formats of Mesoamerican codices.
  • Mesoamerican codices were typically handwritten books or manuscripts made from durable materials like bark paper, deerskin, or other local resources. They were often folded into accordion-like formats, allowing for the efficient storage and display of their contents. The codices contained a wealth of information, including calendars, astronomical data, religious rituals, historical records, and depictions of rulers and important events, all represented through a complex system of glyphs and hieroglyphics.
• Explain the significance of Mesoamerican codices in understanding pre-Columbian civilizations.
  • Mesoamerican codices serve as invaluable primary sources for understanding the sophisticated societies and knowledge systems of indigenous cultures in the Americas prior to European contact. These codices provide crucial insights into the social, political, and religious structures of civilizations like the Aztec, Maya, and Mixtec, as well as their calendars, astronomical observations, and historical narratives. Despite the widespread destruction of many codices during the colonial era, the surviving examples have been instrumental in reconstructing the rich cultural heritage and intellectual achievements of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.
• Analyze the impact of the Spanish conquest on the preservation and study of Mesoamerican codices.
  • The Spanish conquest of the Americas had a devastating impact on the preservation and study of Mesoamerican codices. Many of these invaluable records were systematically destroyed by Spanish conquistadors and missionaries, who viewed them as pagan or heretical. This led to the irreparable loss of a vast amount of cultural and historical information about indigenous civilizations. However, the few surviving codices, such as the Codex Mendoza and the Codex Borbonicus, have become crucial resources for modern scholars to study and reconstruct the complex social, political, and religious systems of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The study of these remaining codices has been instrumental in challenging colonial narratives and shedding light on the sophisticated knowledge and achievements of indigenous American cultures.

Related terms

Glyphs: Stylized symbols or pictographic writing used in Mesoamerican codices to represent words, ideas, or concepts.

Mesoamerica:

The cultural region of North America that encompasses modern-day Mexico and parts of Central America, home to advanced pre-Columbian civilizations that produced many codices.

Hieroglyphics: A system of writing that uses pictorial symbols to represent objects, ideas, or sounds, commonly found in the codices of Mesoamerican cultures.