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Aztec and Mixtec Codex Tradition

Type Object Region Mesoamerica Time 1300–1521

Painted codex tradition of Aztec and Mixtec city-states (14th–16th c.) using bark paper or deer skin for maps, calendars, genealogies, and ritual.

Timeline

  1. 1300–1400Valley of Mexico · Valley of MexicoAztec city-states inherited the Maya–Mixtec pictorial writing tradition, folding amatl bark paper into screenfold codices and developing iconographic systems for calendars, tribute, and warfare.
  2. 1428–1519Tenochtitlan · Valley of MexicoAfter the Triple Alliance was consolidated, court painter-scribes (tlacuilo) produced codices recording conquests, tribute lists, and royal genealogies to serve imperial governance and ideology; this tradition continued after the conquest through colonial codices such as the Codex Mendoza (c. 1541–1542).
  3. 1400–1521Oaxaca Valley · OaxacaA codex school emphasizing royal lineages and marriage alliances formed in the Mixtec–Zapotec region, producing works such as the Codex Vindobonensis and Codex Nuttall, with distinctive regional styles of color and figure rendering.
  4. 1519–1565New Spain · MexicoThe Spanish conquest and the Inquisition led to the destruction of many codices; surviving works mostly entered European collections. Indigenous painters turned to producing hybrid-style chronicles for colonial authorities, and the traditional knowledge system collapsed.

Sources