Historia tolteca-chichimeca (Anales de Cuauhtinchan. Anonymous, 1550-1560)
Metadata: Kirchhoff, P., Odena Güemes, L. & Reyes García, L. Historia tolteca-chichimeca. México D.F. and Puebla: Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social, Estado de Puebla and Fondo de Cultura Económica, S.A. de C.V. 1989. Original at the Fond Mexicain Mexicain of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France as Ms 46-50, Ms 51-53, and Ms 54-58. Online source: http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84559448
Also referred to as Anales de Cuauhtinchan, the Historia tolteca-chichimeca was written and painted in Quauhtinchan in the state of Puebla by a tlacuilo (a trained indigenous scribe-painter) in the mid-sixteenth century. The original manuscript, now part of the Fund of Mexican Manuscripts at the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris contains the text in the Latin alphabet as well as a map painted in European paper, which Kirchhoff et al. conclude was produced before the text in Latin characters since it features details from the pre-hispanic pictorial tradition. It records the origin history of Quauhtinchan from the departure of the Chichimec nomadic groups from Aztlan until 1547, however the last page, F. 52r and 52v are lost, which leaves the Historia incomplete. The 1989 edition relies in other Quauhtinchan-related files from the town of Quauhtinchan itself, the city of Puebla, Mexico City and Paris in order to contextualize the conclusions of the study.[1]
Cuauhtinchan, an altepetl or “city-state” located in the state of Puebla, 100 miles southeast of Mexico City was one of several throughout the Central Valley conquered by and subject to Tenochtitlan. Its perspective on the Spanish invasion, as well as its production period will provide yet another approach to the conquest of 1519-1521.
[1] At the time of its production, the Historia was named xiuhtlaopohualli (“counting of the years”), that is, annals. In an inventory from the Municipal Archive of Quauhtinchan written in 1718, it is listed as Conquista de México, and in paragraph 9 of the Historia itself it is referred to as Libro de conquista (Kirchhoff et al., 1989).
