Map of Cuauhtinchan No. II
In 1891, the Antonio Alzate Schientific Society published a letter which stated that the Map of Cuauhtinchan Num. II was in the village of Cuauhtinchan, state of Puebla, Mexico (Orozco 1892).
Map No. 2 of Cuauhtinchan has been largely ignored by the world. Fortunately, two scholars have studied these documents. This investigation has relied upon their publications. They are:
"Los Mapas de Cuauhtinchan y la Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca"
by Bente Bittman Simons, (1968), INAH, Mexico, D.F."Los Mapas de Cuauhtinchan y la Historia Cartográfica PreHispánica"
by Keiko Yoneda, (1981,1991), Estado de Puebla
For purposes of this study, the Map of Cuauhtinchan No. 2 will hereafter be referred to as "MC2". Excerpts from the publication by Simons (1968) offer the following observations:
- MC2 is basically a geographic map that represents an extended territory as well as historic events... Historic events appear among the site signs... This map provides interesting ethnographic information... A consistent scale was not used and distances are not accurate... Besides people signs and site signs, this map also provides chronological data painted as glyphs for the years and days.
- The events referred to in the Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca, its original text written in Nahuatl with a European script and in drawings, are very similar to the history told in MC2... I think the history contained in the Mapa de Cuauhtinchan No. 2 begins with the year1-Tecpatl when the Tollan people arrived to Cholula, capitol city of the Olmeca-Xicallancas. They came from the Colhuaca hill (either Colhuacan or Colhuatepec), Chicomoztoc at Tollan. According to Rojas (1927), the Indians called the city of Cholula Tullum Cholullam Tlachihualtepec. On the summit of its pyramid was a sanctuary dedicated to Chiconauhquiauitl (9 rain).
- The area encompassed by MC2 has the legendary Chicomoztoc caves as its northwestern boundary. Other sites which can be identified in the map by their glyphs or other signs include Chapultepec, Tenochtitlan, Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. Roughly in the center of the map is Cholula, symbolized by magnificent palaces and a pyramid with a temple... Mountains such as Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl are readily identifiable by their characteristic shapes and the white that symbolizes snow on their peaks. Popocatepetl is also drawn with smoke signs.
- In the northeastern corner of the map is the Pico de Orizaba at the border between the states of Puebla and Veracruz. It is recognized by its shape and the snow covering its peaks. Another big mountain painted along the northern edge (of MC2), roughly in the middle, is undoubtedly La Malinche. The identification of these sites clearly shows an approximate orientation of the map.
- The roads, painted ochre yellow, appear with footsteps giving the impression of a foot by their shape, with toes drawn as a series of small points. This shows us the direction migrations or other movements followed.
- Features of nature appear alongside the roads in the shape of isolated trees and plants and water... Most plants and flowers wich identify names of sites are painted as a particular species.
- Water is painted blue and symbolized by a series of black lines interrupted by spirals, often with small projections which end in a circle.
- Most temples, houses, and palaces seem to be covered with white stucco, but lintels, pillars, and columns are usually colored. Temples are drawn with flat roofs, sometimes with merlons or thatched roofs in the shape of a truncated cone, or sometimes as a double one. The temple, in most cases, appears on top of a stepped pyramid, or a simple truncated pyramid, or a pyramid with talud y tablero. Most of them have a staircase. The temple at the end of the staircase has a doorhead span supported by two pillars or columns.
- At the foot of Chicomoztoc (cavern) are two persons dressed in black, striped, grey tunics. This clothing is characteristic of the Toltecs represented in this map, as well the shape of their staffs. Regarding the Chichimecs, the men wear leather wraps and usually carry a bow and arrow; their women wear a skirt and no blouse. Many of the people depicted on this map carry glyphs which symbolize their name.
- The "original painting was more like a Codice Mixteca, shaped as a long folded manuscript rather than as a large map." Moreover, it's suggested that the paintings in MC2 and the Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca are originally from the same source.
- Simons comments that the town of "Cuauhtinchan was obviously an important center of manuscript paintings at the beginning of Colonial times and it is logical to think that it was so back in PreHispanic times..."
Martínez Marín (1963) writes that MC2 is painted on indigenous paper and in an indigenous style. However, certain pictorial elements indicate a European Influence, making this copy of the map to date within the sixteenth century.
Finally, the noted publication by Yoneda (1981-1991) begins with, "...this work is to study the Cuauhtinchan maps as historic documents and not as works of art". She does a stylistic analysis of the pictorial motifs and concludes, among several important point, that the maps represent historical cartography.
