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The contributions made by Barbara Mundy and Claudia Brittenham to this volume evince the deeper significance of the construction of the Codex Mendoza. Focusing on the concept of the altepetl, the traditional organizing unit for social, political, and cartographic order in Mesoamerica, Mundy reflects on the very nature of this concept. She presents the altepetl of Tenochtitlan as the main protagonist in the Codex Mendoza’s narrative and discusses the role of Tenocha’s descendants as patrons of the arts during the first four decades of the viceroyalty. Meanwhile, Brittenham discusses the social, economic, and ritual relationships with this altepetl, which became an increasingly dominant one in the Mesoamerican landscape over the course of the two centuries prior to the Spanish invasion. Focusing on the importance of what was omitted in the second part of the Codex Mendoza, Brittenham explores the rhetorical dimension of the representation of tribute in terms of a performativity that transcends the pre-Columbian–colonial dichotomy whereby the act of presenting a manuscript to a ruler “was a protocol which indigenous nobles easily embraced, fully appreciating the political nuances possible within the gesture” (Brittenham, this volume).