Mesoamerican DIGITIZED CODICES
Jason R. Suárez | Instructor of History
El Camino College | 16007 Crenshaw Boulevard, Torrance CA 90506 | (310) 532-3670
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