The symbolic-territorial setting of the Map of Teozacoalco: representation of the landscape and its boundaries

Abstract

The Map of Teozacoalco has been considered the key document for deciphering the Mixtec pictorial manuscripts: a real “Rosetta Stone” according to Alfonso Caso. However, there is a group of place signs elements on the map whose reading or interpretation has not been fully clarified. I refer to the glyphs that represent the limits or boundaries of the kingdom of Teozacoalco shaped in a circular manner around the entire map. Of these glyphs, only a small part has to relate to boundaries between Teozacoalco and Chalcatongo, but most of them have not yet been located. In this article I will show the progress of a wider investigation that has allowed me to identify a group of glyphs located in the northern part of the map. Although these glyphs were used to indicate the boundaries of Teozacoalco with other towns, their decipherment and location in the field allowed me to recognize what they really symbolize. With this, I offer insights into the concepts of indigenous territoriality embodied in traditional cartography.