Creation and Origin in the Codex Vienna
Creation and Origin in the Codex Vienna
Lacy Ashley
December 3, 2013 Mixtec codices are historically significant documents that played an essential role in the documentation of Mixteca civilization through the use of pictorial description. Some examples include the Codex Vienna, Codex Bodley, and the Borgia Group manuscripts. They are major examples that we use today for historical research and enlightenment on a society that isn’t well known. I found the subject to be enticing because the stories told are creation myths and it feels like I am being included in something that is sacred to an ancient society that isn’t mine. Furthermore, the pictorial storytelling style makes these manuscripts open for meaningful analysis based on symbolism. This raises the question of whether these documents were historically significant or mythological in terms of Mesoamerican time. Although there are no portraits, there are specific symbolic elements in the costumes that are portrayed to signify important princes or rulers. Only the sex and age may be gathered from the depictions, but other conclusions may be drawn based on the regalia that is possessed by the characters. The images are meant to record important events, and the time count (year and day dates) may be seen in most cases. In several, such as the Codex Zouche-Nuttall, Codex Bodley, and the Codex Vindobonesis reverse, the stories are similar or almost the same. These manuscripts continued to be maintained after the Conquest. The Mixtec had a writing and calendrical system that allowed them to record events and preserve knowledge that ranges from 692 A. D. to the sixteenth century. In conclusion, Mixtec pictorial writing was significant throughout history because it provided a record of important events, established that a time-count was in use, showed the same events happening in different manuscripts, and established a form of writing system that maintained through
Lacy Ashley
December 3, 2013 Mixtec codices are historically significant documents that played an essential role in the documentation of Mixteca civilization through the use of pictorial description. Some examples include the Codex Vienna, Codex Bodley, and the Borgia Group manuscripts. They are major examples that we use today for historical research and enlightenment on a society that isn’t well known. I found the subject to be enticing because the stories told are creation myths and it feels like I am being included in something that is sacred to an ancient society that isn’t mine. Furthermore, the pictorial storytelling style makes these manuscripts open for meaningful analysis based on symbolism. This raises the question of whether these documents were historically significant or mythological in terms of Mesoamerican time. Although there are no portraits, there are specific symbolic elements in the costumes that are portrayed to signify important princes or rulers. Only the sex and age may be gathered from the depictions, but other conclusions may be drawn based on the regalia that is possessed by the characters. The images are meant to record important events, and the time count (year and day dates) may be seen in most cases. In several, such as the Codex Zouche-Nuttall, Codex Bodley, and the Codex Vindobonesis reverse, the stories are similar or almost the same. These manuscripts continued to be maintained after the Conquest. The Mixtec had a writing and calendrical system that allowed them to record events and preserve knowledge that ranges from 692 A. D. to the sixteenth century. In conclusion, Mixtec pictorial writing was significant throughout history because it provided a record of important events, established that a time-count was in use, showed the same events happening in different manuscripts, and established a form of writing system that maintained through