This book tracks the “lives” of a collection of 60 maps made in Oaxaca from the 1570s to the 1730s, offering a reassessment of mapmaking during the middle years of the colonial period. The Spanish focus on legality in terms of acquiring land in Mexico resulted in maps that were quite different from those of indigenous mapmaking traditions. Mapmaking allowed Spanish authorities to divide land based on Iberian ideals of law and property, whereas indigenous creations focused less on ideas of precision and more on the invisible social world of maps.
Spared much of the violent and predatory effects of colonialism experienced in the central region of Mexico, indigenous groups from Oaxaca were better situated to use pictorial maps in conjunction with oral history, written deeds, and witness testimony as evidence in their land claims. Maps in this study include original indigenous creations as well as copies and colonial works that were used to make a connection to earlier times and legitimize and maintain ancient rights and power over the land.
In Chapter 1, the author presents a case study from Xoxocotlán to illustrate the “intimate glimpse into rituals of space, political power shifts, generational affiliations, and legal strategies that individuals used to defend land” (16). In Chapter 2, we are introduced to the artists and how they adapted their styles to cater to multiple audiences: “painters functioned like geographic interpreters … in a rapidly changing social setting … [by using] repurposed traditional Mesoamerican imagery and elaborated new forms based on the introduction of European culture” (33-34). Here we see a direct connection to the precolonial past where pictorial writing and history, used previously to establish elite lineages and social relationships, evolved a capacity to move in and out of two very different cultures. Simple yet powerful examples of the transformation of indigenous pictorial expression are the change of focus from hill/town (teptl) to Catholic churches, and footprints, used in the past to denote roads/paths, now also included horseshoe tracks—both emphasizing a reordering of mapmaking elements.
The genesis of Mexican mapmaking as a blend of European and Mesoamerican traditions is the focus of Chapter 3. The technical advancements of European ink and paper materials were balanced by the sacredness and ritual power that certain native plants, animals, and products had in producing maps. For example, paper was made of a variety of local resources including fibers from maguey and fig, as well as animal pelts. Paper had a life force of its own and was used in curing ceremonies and to communicate with ancestors, as was done in ancient Mesoamerica. In this radically changing time, the author demonstrates that there was not a rapid acculturation of ancient Mesoamerican ideas, but that this clash of cultures resulted in a synthesis of traditions.
In Chapter 4, the author examines the role mapmaking had in settling land claims and the execution of imperial policy. This was a complicated process that created a space for negotiation for all participants: mapmakers, scribes, painters, and politicians. It was an important opportunity for indigenous communities to contest colonialism and gave much agency to individual actors. The author uses intriguing case studies of the legal authenticating of land claims that involved deceit, lying, and using forged maps.
In the epilogue, Alex Hidalgo returns to the beginning of his exploration with a focus on the Italian antiquarian, Lorenzo Boturini, whose collection led to the start of archiving and documenting maps and mapmaking in Mexico. Not all publics were created equal. Gatekeepers guarded access to archives and information, which produced much distrust between stakeholders.
The author effectively demonstrates that maps in early colonial period of Mexico were not just pieces of paper; instead, they were powerful tools that connected an earlier tradition to a new rapidly changing environment. This aspect, I believe, is the appeal of the volume for many different audiences, specifically those with an interest in the archaeology and colonial history of Latin America.
