Presented by: David Carrasco
When: 8:00 – 9:00 am Section 2: Regions & Functions of Texts Continued; Panel 4, 4B
Abstract: Gazing for the first time at the dramatic, colorful, and complex indigenous painting known as the Mapa de Cuauhtinchan No. 2 (MC2) leaves viewers with feelings of admiration and mystery about its narrative of the place of origins, the city of changes and native ways of depicting Spanish intrusions. This extraordinary testament of cultural history and religious memory was created by native Mesoamerican artists from the altepetl or community of Cuauhtinchan, the “Place of the Eagle’s Nest,” who now lived in a “conquered” territory, harassed by Spanish officials, laid low by foreign diseases but who continued to reassert their ancient rights to the land even as they affirm a new hybrid religious world view. My work explores the pictorial narrative of the Mapa de Cuauhtinchan #2, its ancient odyssey, diverse ceremonial landscapes, capital city and indigenous ways of depicting their conflicts and negotiations with diverse ethnic groups.