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From the beginning, we can see that Clavijero claims to speak from an objective perspective. The title of the first iteration of the book is Storia Antica del Messico with the subtitle Cavata da´migliori storici spagniuoli e da manuscriti, e dalle pitture antiche degl´indiani (The Ancient History of Mexico, obtained from the Spanish and Mexican historians, from manuscripts, and ancient paintings of the Indians). Here, I wish to highlight the Italian word cavata, which literally translates to “taken from,” but can also mean “extracted” or “obtained.”17 By “extracting” or “taking from,” the author represents himself as the medium through which the audience can obtain a historical object. In this case, that which can be obtained is a source, and so Clavijero intimates that there has been no manipulation or interpretation of the source. Thus, over the course of the ten books of the Storia (with the exception of the dissertations in which Clavijero openly offers his own arguments), the language the author uses and his writing style give the illusion that the relationship he establishes with his sources is that of a vehicle through which these can transmit their content, unmediated by the author. In his phrasing, we can always identify that the ideas presented in his collected sources take precedence, not his own. Thus, we can consider the profusion of footnotes, charts, maps, and comparative lists offered by Clavijero as more than mere receptacles of marginal reflexions or an acknowledgement of authorship; instead, these elements allow us to descry the very structure of the work itself, thereby establishing the true authorial locus of the work. It is the sources that are important, not the compiler.