Pre-Hispanic and colonial

Mexican codices

Mexican codices fall into two large groups: pre-Hispanic ones, painted before 1519, and colonial ones, made after the Conquest, often by Indigenous painters and with glosses in Nahuatl or Spanish.

Among the best-known colonial codices are the Tira de la Peregrinación or Codex Boturini, which tells of the Mexica migration from Aztlán; the Codex Mexicanus, with calendars and history; the Codex of Tepechpan; and the Lienzo de Tlaxcala, which tells of the Tlaxcalans' alliance with the Spanish.

These documents are essential sources for the history, religion and writing of ancient Mexico.

The MUNAG holds handmade copies and editions of these codices, which can be viewed in the online collection.