A Historical Reading of the 1578 Map of Azcapotzaltongo

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study about the 1578 Map-codex of Azcapotzaltongo, a space situated in the basin of the Cuautitlán river whose pre-Hispanic course had been altered to make way for a large irrigation system. Our goal is to show the potential that this type of document offers to understand the features of the highlighted area and, starting from this analysis, study the processes of change and continuity in the landscape. The three Indian settlements shown on the map are located to the north of the Cuenca de Mexico (Basin of Mexico), near the city of Mexico and reveal the spreading appropriation of land by several Spanish colonists, the presence of livestock activity, and the cultivation of irrigated wheat and other plants introduced by the Spaniards.

The reading that I propose, which will be preceded by an examination of the administrative steps followed by the royal authorities that commissioned the map, is based on the observation and detailed analysis of the documented spaces, glyphs and drawings accomplished with the help of a numerical guide. The map is broken down into discreet units to allow us to better understand the meanings of both its individual parts and the entire represented image as a whole.