Perception and Interpretation of the Landscape in the Lienzo of Coixtlahuaca/Seler II

Summary

The Lienzo of Coixtlahuaca II, also named Seler II, was brought by the German mesoamericanist Eduard Seler to Berlin, Germany in 1897. The 375 x 425 cm document, made in the first half of the XVI century in the city of Coixtlahuaca located in the modern state of Oaxaca, Mexico, is made of eight cotton cloths sewn together to form an enormous Lienzo. The history of Coixtlahuaca's cacicazgo, its territory and lineages, is depicted alongside their mythical origins and migrations. The document portrays, in a prehispanic pictographic language, the history intertwined with landscape, showing the perception and close relation of it to the city-state settlement and the cosmological interaction between them. This presentation proposes an interpretation of the modern geographical landscape and its ties and perception to the mythical landscape and history portrayed in the Lienzo. By interpreting the modern geography, mythical places of origin and foundation like the Chicomoztoc and the Coatepec, could be found within it thus, the landscape would fulfill the cosmological aspects needed for a settlement. The cosmology, history and landscape should be considered an integral feature of the settlement itself.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20236