The Codex of San Cristóbal Coyotepec and its ramifications for the production of Techialopan Manuscripts

Resumen

The codices that have been grouped under the name of "Techialoyan" are a far less homogeneous group than has been alleged by sorne. One subgrouping of the larger category is that of "double-register" codices, which bear two scenes painted on each page, one above the other, rather than the more common single scene. At least ten of these are known, as compared to over thirty single-register examples. Most studies of the genre as a whole have been based upon the single-register examples, and many upon only a small subset of those. The double-register codices, although still clearly Techialoyans by any definition of that name, are quite divergent stylistically. Within the group of double-register codices, three bear an even greater resemblance to each other. Numbers 727, from San Cristóbal Coyotepec, 721, from San Miguel Cuaxochco and San Miguel Tepexoxouhcan, and 732, from San Nicolás Totolapan or Coyoacan, all contain scenes copied from a fourth, model manuscript. In the case of 721 and 727, these scenes were copied onto the folio leaves before they were bound, so that each congruent page occurs with the same page on the other half of the leaf. These leaves were then bound with no apparent regard for the order of the scenes, and captions were written on each page. Although sorne of these captions refer to historically accurate places, others appear in both codices and are clearIy creations of the scribe based on the accompanying image. The congruent scenes in 732 do not appear to be laid out in the same way; it is unclear what this entails for the production of the three codices. Clearly, all three codices were produced within a single workshop over a fairly brief period of time. What relation this workshop bore to that which produced the other Techialoyan codices is not yet known. Equally clearly, one cannot judge the accuracy and historicity ofa single Techialoyan codex without reference to others.