Mesoamerican DIGITIZED CODICES

Welcome!

Mesoamerican Digitized Codices is devoted to making accessible in one location Mesoamerican digitized pre-Columbian and 16th century codices available on the Internet so that readers can explore these culturally and historically significant treasures.

Scholarly Journals

Codex Mendoza

Codex Osuna

Hispanic American Historical Review

Codex Dresden

Categorization of Codices

The codices that have survived are categorized into pre-Columbian composition and post- Columbian composition.  Pre-Columbian references those codices that were written before the arrival of the Spanish whereas post-Columbian references those written after the arrival of the Spanish. Depending on the culture, the writing can appear as glottographic (language-based) or semasiographic (idea-based) systems. When accessing these works it is fundamental to set aside any western conventions of what one might believe constitutes writing. In many cases, the composition of codices appears to be a fusion between writing and art. All of this will become more apparent as you explore the Pre-Columbian codices.

Department of History