Codices offer glimpse of centuries-old Mexican life [View all]

Mexico City (AFP) – Centuries-old codices offering a glimpse into Mexico's past will be added to the country's national anthropology library, experts said Wednesday.

Issued on: 21/03/2024 - 02:21

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Centuries-old codices showing key events in Mexican history are projected onto a screen at the National Museum of Anthropology © Yuri CORTEZ / AFP


The illustrated documents showing key events in Mexican history had been in the hands of a family that treasured them for generations before giving them up for a hefty sum, the anthropologists announced.

Baltazar Brito, director of the National Library of Anthropology and History, hailed the discovery of the three codices as "unprecedented."

They reveal traditional Indigenous script that "until today had remained hidden from public vision," the historian said as he presented photographs and video of the documents to the media.

The codices were produced in the late 16th century and early 17th century by painters and illustrators who served as scribes in pre-Hispanic Mexico and remained active during the colonial period, Brito added.

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