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This article presents and analyzes a newly discovered petroglyph from Tetzcotzinco (mun. Texcoco, Mexico) in the form of arranged pecked dots. Based on what is known about Mesoamerican divinatory systems, calendars, and the perception of space, the interpretation takes into account both the encoded numerical values and the layout of the dots. The main argument is that this and similar representations' function was not limited to simple counting of days or serving as a kind of astronomical marker, in which the arms of the cross indicated, for example, equinoxes, which is by far their most common interpretation in academic literature. Instead, it represented calendrical cycles through the numbers, as suggested by some scholars. Based on this hypothesis, the article explores the possible connection between numbers registered in Tetzcotzinco's "pecked cross" and specific diagrams from indigenous divinatory books. Therefore, the plausible interpretation of the symbolism of this petroglyph is that it either expressed a series of meanings related to the agrarian period(s) and rain god(s) or less-known Mesoamerican calendrical cycles, such as half trecenas or seven- and nine-day periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to analyse the anthropomorphic figures of the Madrid Codex, through the perspective of Mayan visual culture, to understand the forms of representation of the human body and thereby approach the way of assuming the body by the Yucatecan Mayans of the Postclassic Period. The general features of anthropomorphic figures are pointed out, the modules used to build them are characterized and the information offered by linguistic and anthropological research on the subject is used. The body is a totality of interrelated parts, the body is the vehicle for knowledge, communication, and action; in the body both the individual identity and the community character of the human being are expressed, it is also possible to identify the cultural construction that gives predominance to the masculine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After some considerations which situate history and historic literature in their respective European and Pre-Columbian epistemic contexts, we realize an analytical approach to a pictographic narrative in different Nahua codices, but especially in the first eight plates of Codex Azcatitlan that relate the mythical tribulations of the Mexicas, in the early steps of their departure from Aztlan-Chicomoztoc. We essentially compare the narrative matter of the pictorial text in this document with the corresponding sequences in Codex Boturini, Codex Mexicanus, and Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca. The intention is to show the diversity of visual paradigms, in terms of semiotics and narration, and the visual syntax of association that prevails and contributes to the production of sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

John the Apostle and the Evangelist stayed on Patmos, the island in the Dodecanese Archipelago, in the Aegean Sea, at the end of the 1st century AD, where he wrote the Apocalypse, the last canonic book of the New Testament. A millennium later, in 1088, the cleric Christodoulos established a monastery on Patmos dedicated to this great personality in Christian history. In the Monastery of St. John the Apostle, which had a rather tumultuous history during the next nine centuries, there is one of the largest and richest libraries of the type, which represents a particular treasure not only for the Monastery or the Orthodox Christianity in general, but for science and researchers of the past from various scientific fields who come to the Monastery from all parts of the world. The library collections in Patmos Monastery can be grouped into three categories: codices, documents and printed books. Speaking of codices, it is a well-known fact that the initial Christodoulos collection, which, as it turned out, had been the nucleus from which the voluminous treasury of many different manuscripts evolved, consisted of 330 manuscript codices. Thanks to the constant inflow, the number of manuscripts kept growing in later periods, so that by 1890 the collection consisted of an impressive 855 manuscripts. The library also contains around 150 documents dating from the Byzantine period, and this number excludes many official and unofficial documents. On the other hand, the number of documents dating from the post-Byzantine period is considerably larger - over 13,000. The post-Byzantine collection of documents includes many of those written in foreign languages, such as Latin (68), Romanian (36), and Turkish (1,300). The library collection of the Monastery of St. John the Apostle also contains around three thousand printed books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the work of the Chicana artist Sandy Rodriguez, who created the Codex Rodriguez-Mondragón, an ongoing project begun in 2017 that consists of botanical illustrations and large-scale maps of California and northern Mexico. Rodriguez’s Codex draws on pre-Hispanic, colonial, and Chicana/o/x antecedents, most notably the Florentine Codex (sixteenth century) and the Chicana/o/x codices of the early 1990s, produced in the context of the quincentenary of Columbus’s voyage. This article posits Rodriguez’s Codex as a polyphonic text that exceeds both the linguistic of the literary and the visual of the artistic, drawing on a multiplicity of sources, both historical and contemporary, visual and textual, oral and aural, in her mapping of California’s land and history. The Codex Rodriguez-Mondragón collapses precolonial, colonial, and contemporary histories to underscore continuities between the ruptures of conquest and our dangerous geopolitical moment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pliny the Elder's Natural History, which contains an account of the origins of painting, offered sixteenth-century European artists a gift as they struggled to advance the status of painting as an intellectual rather than a mechanical art. The Roman authority was also read by Indigenous intellectuals in New Spain; they described their autochthonous painting practice in an account written in the Nahuatl language to respond to Pliny. This article offers a new translation of their account and a careful analysis that draws on recent work by material scientists to construct an Indigenous ontology of the image, and gives a comparison to the Plinian ideal. Crucial to both accounts is the role of the shadow as it relates to the nature of representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this article is the representation of rituals in pre-Colonial Mixtec codices. The objective is to show the diversity of rituals that were practised during the pre-Colonial period in relation to the ordering of social and natural times, from Mixtec stylistic resources and perspective. As other authors have already expressed, the codices are a primary and essential source for understanding the pre-Colonial period since, in the case of Ñuu Savi (The People of the Rain), they were written by Mixtecs, who explained their own world through these ancient books. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the tense relationship between the oral and written transmissions in the history of the Qurʾān. While Muslim scholars consider "orality" to be the cornerstone in the process of transmitting their holy text, I argue that writing, in its various forms, was a crucial element in transmitting and validating the Qurʾān. Orality was also an important component in this process of transmission but it also played a theological role in establishing the superiority of the Qurʾān over the Bible. Indeed, the written transmission of the Qurʾān might have been more authoritative than its oral counterpart, which was/is mainly used as an argumentative device to establish the integrity of the text rather than to establish the text itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to provide a diachronic overview of the evolution of New Testament Coptic titles, taking into account their textual structure, location inside the manuscript, and ornamental devices. The evolution of a title is not only related to the role of the chronological phase of the book production it belongs to, but also dependent upon the geographic area where its translation—from Greek to Coptic—took place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We carry out a mathematical analysis of the quadrilateral fields from Codex Santa María Asunción and compare it with similar previous results from Codex Vergara, as well as analyze fields with more than four sides from both codices. We also provide a computational tool to draw all the possible shapes of the fields. Finally, we use the concept of maximum area to test the feasibility of the areas recorded in the codices and conclude that the Acolhua were very good surveyors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byzantine civilization did not know the printed book: it was a civilization of manuscripts and manuscript books (codices) made of papyrus, parchment, and paper. The ancient Greeks bequeathed to the Byzantines the word Logos (in multiple meanings – word, speech, mind, reason, supreme principle, the divine creative power, the word of God, the word as the bearer of life and light), as the greatest treasure. The Rhomaioi (Byzantines) polished the skill of use of words and the ability to persuade with words to their full glory. However, the use of words within Byzantine civilization flourished completely and reached its apogee in literature. An important feature of the Greek language in Byzantine times (the period from the fourth to the fifteenth century) is diglossia, i.e. the existence of two different varieties of a language used under different conditions within a community – a high, socially prestigious form, used for writing, and a low, simpler, everyday spoken form. For Christians, a sensitive issue was the attitude towards the ancient pagan heritage: they accepted what did not conflict with their dogmas, and rejected the rest. Today, there are about 55,000 Greek manuscripts in the world, of which about 40,000 are Byzantine. In order to be distributed to readers and preserved from decay, manuscript books were being transcribed in scriptoriums, in which not only monks but also secular people of various professions were working. Books were very expensive. There were public, imperial, patriarchal, monastic, and private libraries, with not large collections of manuscripts. As Byzantine civilization was approaching its decline, the migration of Greek manuscripts from Byzantium to the Latin world of Western Europe began. In that way, the great heritage of ancient civilization was preserved and transferred to European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have proposed that for decades after the conquest of Yucatan Maya scribes wielded competence in both the old hieroglyphic and the new Latinbased alphabetic scripts. During that time some scribes apparently worked furtively to transfer parts of their pre-conquest traditions, encoded in hieroglyphic codices, into new forms of alphabetic-based writing such as the Books of Chilam Balam and other forbidden works. Various types of evidence --historical and philological-- have been offered to substantiate claims concerning the lingering effects of hieroglyphic writing practices upon Maya use of the alphabetic script in early colonial times. In the light of new evidence from twentieth-century Maya scribal practice, this paper demonstrates that previously published arguments, especially those developed in an influential series of papers by distinguished Mayanist Victoria Bricker, can no longer be considered valid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a new approach to the representation of ceremonial cycles in pre- Hispanic religious codices. On the one hand, there is the influence of the vision of the friars, and their collaborators, in the production of historical sources regarding native religión; and the successive modern interpretations are questioned. On the other hand, a different approach is proposed based on field experience in the Mazatec region of Huautla de Jiménez, where nightly ceremonies, known as "evenings" since the time of María Sabina, open the door to rituals and knowledge which is almost completely unexplored in the existing literature on Mesoamerican religion of both the past and present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grapheme T648 in the Maya script occurs exclusively in the Postclassic period. Whether it is a CV syllable or a CVC logogram has been in question. In this paper we resolve that issue. Also, we suggest that the Classic version of the sign is T694, which led us to query relevant environments of both versions of the grapheme. We have found a solid substitution in the Postclassic codices with which we can answer several unknown collocations in the Classic Period. We offer CVC and V values for T648/694 and demonstrate their productivity in different contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the disappearance of the Western Roman Empire, law also started to decline as at the beginning of the Middle Ages state authority was almost inexistent - there was no longer a sophisticated legislator as the Romans, a hierarchy of executive power or a system of courts of law. It took European states a few centuries to regain the level of civilisation (including judicial civilisation) the Romans had reached during the peak of the Roman Empire. Even though it lacked judicial force, Roman law remained a benchmark for all European legists who interpreted the traditions and new norms from its perspective and it proved its value once again, centuries later, during the period of the great codices. In the European space marked by the middle class revolutions, the modern era was a period of great legislative effervescence. The French Revolution (1789) gave birth to the Declaration of the Human and Citizen's Rights and then a long line of (French) constitutions have given an impulse to reforming movements throughout Europe (numerous states adopted their own constitutions which were the base for their entire national law system). The French Civil Code (1805), the French Commercial Code (1807) and then the German Civil and Commercial Codes (which became valid in 1900) represented the pillars of continental private law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An examination of several historical texts in the Maya codices reveals that droughts were a significant concern to the pre-ColumbianMaya that ultimately resulted in the collapse of their civilization. The effects of such droughts mentioned in those texts include damage to crops, famine, and wildfires. The dates assigned to five droughts in the codical texts agree with dates obtained from the analysis of lacustrine cores and stalagmites in caves by climatologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is often said that palaeographic analysis of Greek literary manuscripts from the Roman era has progressed from an aesthetic judgment to more of a science, thanks largely to increased data (in the form of newly discovered papyri and parchments from Egypt) and to more sophisticated ways of describing similarity and difference in handwriting. This progress is frequently taken to mean that we may now use the analysis of handwriting to assign dates to undated manuscripts with much greater precision and accuracy than was possible a century ago. This article questions this conclusion by focusing on neglected methodological points that specifically relate to the problem of palaeographic dating of codices, namely the size and character of the corpus of securely datable samples to which the handwriting of undated codices is compared. This problem is especially relevant for early Christian books, the surviving examples of which tend to be copied in the codex format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Place names are a way of naming a territory. The glyphic records of the Late Classic inscriptions, corresponding to the ñuiñe tradition in the northwest region of Oaxaca, are an important sample with regard to the knowledge of the writing system of the Mixteca Baja region. This article presents a review of the study methods used regarding the local writing systems, and in particular, of toponymy in Oaxaca, as well as the practicality of the epigraphic, iconographic and ethno historical tools that led to a reflection on some of the implications unearthed in the study, analysis and understanding of these [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Created in late sixteenth-century Mexico City, theCodex Mexicanusis an extensive bound book of miscellaneous contents, including a rare pictorial genealogy of the Tenochca dynastic lineage that traces the family line from its ancient origins to its colonial descendants. TheCodex Mexicanus, as a whole, represents an attempt by its patrons and contributors to reconcile the Mexica past and the Christian present, and the inclusion of a genealogy in the larger book suggests that the Mexica royal house was believed to play an important role in this process. By providing a reading of the genealogy and comparing it with others, both native and European, I show that it presents a unique view of the Tenochca royal house that emphasizes its integrity and antiquity and in so doing effectively excludes outsiders who, at the time the codex was being created, were increasingly making claims on Mexica privileges without the proper family connections. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT The discovery of mural paintings at the Classic Maya site of Xultun, Guatemala, provides an important context for the study of ancient literacy and writing in practice. The mural chamber was a place of writing where the hands of multiple scribes recorded events and astronomical tabulations on walls that were also painted with portraits of ritual specialists and the reigning king. We present evidence suggesting that creation and inscription of indigenous Maya books, called codices, also took place onsite by a specific cohort of ritual specialists called taaj. In this article, we seek to archaeologically 'situate' these codex-like inscriptions in the mural room-revealing a crucial and distinctly Precolumbian window (as opposed to colonial Spanish view) into Maya bookmaking, its practitioners, and the physical contexts in which it was carried out. Together, the images, texts, and archaeological materials found in and around the chamber enable us to contextualize acts of writing and their authorship as well as engage larger questions regarding the social and political structures shaping literacy in Maya society during the eighth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arthropods, since prehispanic times, was been of great importance among the Mesoamerican peoples, both because of its biological characteristics and its cultural impact. Indigenous groups have generated a deep and systematic knowledge about the different arthropods that are distributed in our country, which is reflected in the use of these organisms for feeding and medicinal use, mainly. There are only a few studies of zootherapy on prehispanic and colonial sources, but this documents represents a vast body of ancient and traditional knowledge about nature, so it is necessary to carry out scientific studies about these muniment in order to understand the knowledge and use of resources involved in the processes of health and disease among people Nahua prehispanic and contemporary. This work aims to identify the arthropods as medicinal resource that are reported in the Florentine Codex, Libellus of Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis and Historia Natural de Nueva España. Such works were consulted and were extracted his texts in spanish which mentions the arthropods useful in Nahua medicine; biological works were reviewed and listed on such taxonomic sources. Eleven arthropods were reported in this study, belonging to fourteen taxonomic orders, to cure 35 diseases. Despite the scant mention of this faunal group in these sources, it is important to record the different uses of these organisms that were part of the biocultural heritage of the Nahua people. It is essential to realize further studies and comparisons between more sources, as this will allow to understand some of the current uses that are still being given to animals in mexican traditional medicine, particularly with arthropods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The calendar of 260 days, made up of the combination of 20 signs and 13 numbers, was one of the essential traits of ancient Mesoamerican civilizations. Interestingly, this calendar system persists in some contemporary communities in Mexico and Guatemala, where it is still utilized by daykeepers, also experts in ritual, divination and medicine. The present article offers a brief documentation of one of these calendars, among the Ayöök (Mixe) people of Oaxaca, Mexico. Derived from this, an analytical view is offered to provide a better understanding of its function and social significance. This work attempts to shed light on the study of Mesoamerican calendars as well as to approach the calendrical and mantic pictorial manuscripts of the Teoamoxtli (Borgia) Group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Maya Blue, a pigment composed of very low concentrations of natural indigo and the clay mineral palygorskite, is one of the most brilliant blue dyes, intensively used for more than 2000 years in Mesoamerica. It is extremely stable against environmental attacks and was applied by the Indians for inside and outside mural paintings, ceramics, textiles and for colouring their famous codices. In the present paper it was studied as a powder (compared with modern synthetic indigo) and as colour on tissues, a Maya clay head, and fragment IV of the famous Codex Huamantla. Investigations using Raman spectroscopy in the visible and near-infrared range showed a high degree of correspondence among all Maya Blue-carrying samples and a good agreement with synthetic indigo. Additional spectral lines may be explained by a transformation of the planar indigo molecule when binding to the palygorskite lattice. Thermal investigations of the original “amatl” paper of the codex and of recent paper from fig-trees showed a high similarity and thus proved that this tree was chosen for paper making by Mayas, Aztecs and other Indian tribes. This was also true for the codex. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present article aims to give a brief survey of some of the most important technological changes which have affected the concept and use of natural language From the first and probably most important of these changes, the invention of writing, to more recent ones, such as television and hypertext, there have always been people who were in favor of their introduction and people against them, especially because of their possible effects on the mental process related to the use of language. Yet, scientific studies on the matter have been rather scarce and no clear conclusion has been reached. Now that the computer has found its place in our educational system, it is really important and urgent to study systematically whether the technologies associated with it hinder or favor the learning of our students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Some errata in the text of the paper “Thermal and Raman-spectroscopic analysis of Maya blue carrying artifacts, especially fragment IV of the Codex Huamantla” [Thermochim. Acta 456 (2007) 56–63] were noticed, and some historical inaccuracies were revealed. A discussion on the methodological approach using Raman spectroscopy to identify Maya blue in the codex is presented here, not questioning, however, the authenticity of the codex. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]