The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are Indigenous

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

n peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as

La Mixteca is a cultural, economic and political region in Western Oaxaca and neighboring portions of Puebla, Guerrero in south-central Mexico, which refers to the home of the Mixtec people. In their languages, the region is called either , or . Two-thir ...

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

and

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica Regions of the state of

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

. The

Mixtec culture The Mixtec culture (also called the Mixtec civilization) was a pre-Columbian archaeological culture, corresponding to the ancestors of the Mixtec people; they called themselves Ñuu savi (a name that their descendants still preserve), which mean ...

was the main Mixtec civilization, which lasted from around 1500 BCE until being conquered by the Spanish in 1523. The Mixtec region is generally divided into three subregions based on geography: the

Mixteca Alta is a cultural, economic and political region in Western Oaxaca and neighboring portions of Puebla, Guerrero in south-central Mexico, which refers to the home of the Mixtec people. In their languages, the region is called either , or . Two-third ...

(Upper Mixtec or Ñuu Savi Sukun), the

Mixteca Baja is a cultural, economic and political region in Western Oaxaca and neighboring portions of Puebla, Guerrero in south-central Mexico, which refers to the home of the Mixtec people. In their languages, the region is called either , or . Two-thir ...

(Lower Mixtec or Ñuu I'ni), and the Mixteca Costa (Coastal Mixtec or Ñuu Andivi). The Alta is drier with higher elevations, while the Baja is lower in elevation, hot but dry, and the Costa is also low in elevation but much more humid and tropical. The Alta has seen the most study by archaeologists, with evidence for human settlement going back to the Archaic and Early

Formative period Several chronologies in the archaeology of the Americas include a Formative Period or Formative stage etc. It is often sub-divided, for example into "Early", "Middle" and "Late" stages. The Formative is the third of five stages defined by Gord ...

s. The first urbanized sites emerged here. Long considered to be part of the larger Mixteca region, groups living in the Baja were probably more culturally related to neighboring peoples in Eastern Guerrero than they were to the Mixtecs of the Alta. They even had their own hieroglyphic writing system called ñuiñe. The Costa only came under control of the Mixtecs during the military campaigns of the Mixtec cultural hero

Eight Deer Jaguar Claw Eight Deer Jaguar Claw (), or Eight Deer for brevity, was a powerful Mixtec ruler in 11th-century Oaxaca referred to in the 15th-century deerskin manuscript Codex Zouche-Nuttall, and other Mixtec Group, Mixtec manuscripts. His surname is alternat ...

. Originally from

Tilantongo Tilantongo was a Mixtec citystate in the Mixteca Alta region of the modern-day state of Oaxaca which is now visible as an archeological site near the modern town of Santiago Tilantongo. It is located at 17°15' N. Lat. and 97°17' W. Long. Its ...

in the Alta, Eight Deer and his armies conquered several major and minor kingdoms on their way to the coast, establishing the capital of

Tututepec Tututepec (Mixtec languages, Mixtec: ''Yucu Dzaa'') is a Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican archaeological site. It is located in the lower Río Verde (Oaxaca), Río Verde valley on the coast of Mesoamerican geography#Oaxaca, Oaxaca. The city was the capita ...

in the Lower Río Verde valley. Previously, the Costa had been primarily occupied by the

Chatinos The Chatinos are an Indigenous people of Mexico. Chatino communities are located in the southeastern region of the state of Oaxaca in southern central Mexico. Their native Chatino language are spoken by about 23,000 people (Ethnologue surveys), bu ...

. In pre-Columbian times, some Mixtec kingdoms competed and allied with each other and with Zapotec kingdoms in the Central Valleys. Like the rest of the

Indigenous peoples of Mexico Indigenous peoples of Mexico (), Native Mexicans () or Mexican Native Americans (), are those who are part of communities that trace their roots back to populations and communities that existed in what is now Mexico before the arrival of Europe ...

, the Mixtecs were conquered by the Spanish invaders and their Indigenous allies in the 16th century. Pre-Columbian Mixtecs numbered around 1.5 million. Today there are approximately 800,000 Mixtec people in Mexico, and there are also large populations in the United States. The Mixtec languages form a major branch of the Oto-Manguean language family.

Nomenclature and etymology

The term Mixtec (''Mixteco'' in Spanish) comes from the

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

word ''mixtecah'' , "cloud people". There are many names that the Mixtecs have for naming themselves: ''ñuù savi, nayívi savi, ñuù davi, nayivi davi''. etc. All these denominations can be translated as 'the land of the rain'. The historic homeland of Mixtec people is La Mixteca, called in Mixtec language ''Ñuu Savi'', ''Ñuu Djau'', ''Ñuu Davi'', etc., depending on the local variant. They call their language ''sa'an davi'', ''da'an davi'' or ''tu'un savi''.

Overview

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

times, the Mixtec were one of the major civilizations of

. Important ancient centers of the Mixtec include the ancient capital of

, as well as the sites of

Achiutla The thumb is the first Digit (anatomy), digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin Englis ...

Cuilapan Cuilapan de Guerrero is a town and Municipalities of Oaxaca, municipality located in the central valley region of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. It is to the south of the Oaxaca, Oaxaca, capital city of Oaxaca on the road leading to Villa de Zaachila ...

, Huajuapan,

Mitla Mitla is the second-most important archeological site in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico, and the most important of the Zapotec culture. The site is located 44 km from the city of Oaxaca, in the upper end of the Tlacolula Valley, one of the ...

Tlaxiaco Tlaxiaco () is a city, and its surrounding Municipalities of Oaxaca, municipality of the same name, in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is located in the Tlaxiaco District in the south of the Mixteca Region, with a population of about 17,450. The ...

Juxtlahuaca Juxtlahuaca (), or Xiuxtlahuaca (), is a cave and archaeological site in the Mexican state of Guerrero containing murals linked to the Olmec motifs and iconography. Along with the nearby Oxtotitlán cave, Juxtlahuaca walls contain the earlie ...

, and Yucuñudahui. The Mixtecs also made major constructions at the ancient city of

Monte Albán Monte Albán is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán Municipality in the southern Mexico, Mexican state of Oaxaca (17.043° N, 96.767°W). The site is located on a low mountainous range rising above the plain i ...

(which had originated as a Zapotec city before the Mixtecs gained control of it). The work of Mixtec artisans who produced work in

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

, wood, and metal was well regarded throughout ancient Mesoamerica. According to West, "the Mixtec of Oaxaca...were the foremost goldsmiths of Mesoamerica," which included the "

lost-wax casting Lost-wax castingalso called investment casting, precision casting, or ''cire perdue'' (; borrowed from French)is the process by which a duplicate sculpture (often a metal, such as silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is cast from an original scul ...

of gold and its alloys." At the height of the

Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire, also known as the Triple Alliance (, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ or the Tenochca Empire, was an alliance of three Nahuas, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states rul ...

, many Indigenous people in Oaxaca, including the Mixtecs and Zapotecs, would suffer under at the hands of the

Aztecs The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the ...

. In the 1450s, Mixtecs would be weakened after the Aztec armies crossed the mountains into the Valley of Oaxaca with the intention of extending their hegemony. Aztec forces triumphed over the Mixtecs in 1458. In 1486, the Aztecs established a fort on the hill of Huaxyácac (now called El Fortín), overlooking the present city of Oaxaca, which allowed the Aztecs to enforce

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...

collection from the Mixtecs and Zapotecs. However, not all Mixtec towns became

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s. The Mixtecs put up some resistance to Spanish forces led by

Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, ''conquistador'', ''adelantado,'' governor and Captaincy General of Guatemala, captain general of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the c ...

. However, they would be subdued by the Spanish and their central Mexican allies led by Francisco de Orozco in 1521. Upon Orozco's arrival to the Valley of Oaxaca on November 25, 1521, the Mixtecs would be peacefully submit to Spanish rule, though some resistance would continue in

Antequera Antequera () is a city and municipality in the Comarca de Antequera, province of Málaga, part of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" (''el corazón de An ...

before ending by the end of 1521. Mixtecs have migrated to various parts of both Mexico and the United States. In recent years a large exodus of Indigenous peoples from Oaxaca, such as the Zapotec and Triqui, has seen them emerge as one of the most numerous groups of

Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

in the United States. As of 2011, an estimated 150,000 Mixteco people were living in California, and 25,000 to 30,000 in New York City. Large Mixtec communities exist in the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

cities of

Tijuana, Baja California Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most pop ...

, San Diego, California and

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

. Mixtec communities are generally described as transnational or trans-border because of their ability to maintain and reaffirm social ties between their native homelands and diasporic communities. (See: Mixtec transnational migration.)

Mixtecs in the colonial era

There is considerable documentation in the Mixtec (Ñudzahui) native language for the colonial era, which has been studied as part of the

New Philology New Philology can refer to: * The nineteenth-century intellectual movement in philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary ...

. Mixtec documentation indicates parallels between many Indigenous social and political structures with those in the Nahua areas, but published research on the Mixtecs does not primarily focus on economic matters. There is considerable Mixtec documentation for land issues, but sparse for market activity, perhaps because Indigenous cabildos did not regulate commerce or mediate economic disputes except for land. Long-distance trade existed in the prehispanic era and continued in Indigenous hands in the early colonial. In the second half of the colonial period, there were bilingual Mixtec merchants, dealing in both Spanish and Indigenous goods, who operated regionally. However, in the Mixteca “by the eighteenth century, commerce was dominated by Spaniards in all but the most local venues of exchange, involving the sale of agricultural commodities and Indigenous crafts or the resale of imported goods.”. Despite the development of a local exchange economy, many Spaniards with economic interests in Oaxaca, including “ me of the Mixteca priests, merchants, and landowners maintained permanent residence in Puebla, and labor for the ''obrajes'' (textile workshops) of the city of Puebla in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was sometimes recruited from peasant villages in the Mixteca." There is evidence of community litigation against Mixtec caciques who leased land to Spaniards and the growth of individually contracted wage labor. Mixtec documentation from the late eighteenth century indicates that "most caciques were simply well-to-do investors in Spanish-style enterprises"; some married non-Indians; and in the late colonial era had little claim to hereditary authority.

Geography

Codex Zouche-Nuttall - higher definition

The Mixtec area, both historically and currently, corresponds roughly to the western half of the state of

, with some Mixtec communities extending into the neighboring state of

to the north-west and also the state of

. The Mixtec people and their homelands are often subdivided into three geographic areas: The ''

'' or Highland Mixtec living in the mountains in, around, and to the west of the

Valley of Oaxaca The Central Valleys () of Oaxaca, also simply known as the Oaxaca Valley, is a geographic region located within the modern-day state of Oaxaca in southeastern Mexico. In an administrative context, it has been defined as comprising the districts of ...

; the ''

'' or Lowland Mixtec living to the north and west of these highlands, and the ''

Mixteca de la Costa is a cultural, economic and political region in Western Oaxaca and neighboring portions of Puebla, Guerrero in south-central Mexico, which refers to the home of the Mixtec people. In their languages, the region is called either , or . Two-third ...

'' or Coastal Mixtec living in the southern plains and the coast of the Pacific Ocean. For most of Mixtec history, the Mixteca Alta was the dominant political force, with the capitals of the Mixtec nation located in the central highlands. The valley of Oaxaca itself was often a disputed border region, sometimes dominated by the Mixtec and sometimes by their neighbors to the east, the Zapotec. An ancient Coixtlahuaca Basin cave site known as the

Colossal Natural Bridge Ndaxagua (also Ndaxagua cave, Ndaxagua natural tunnel), locally known in Spanish language, Spanish as ''El Puente Colosal'' ("Colossal aturalBridge") is a natural cave with double entrance and archaeological site, located in the extreme northern ...

is an important sacred place for the Mixtec.

Mixtec rulers

In Mixteca Costa

Acatepec, ''Yucu Yoo''

* 1090-1097: Lady 6 Monkey ''War Quexquemitl'' (usurper, deposed), ** Sub-rulers Lord 3 Aligator and Lord 1 Movement * 1097-1115: Lord 8 Deer ''Jaguar Claw'' (usurper)

Tututepec, ''Yucu Dzaa''

* ?: Nizainzo Huidzo * c.357: Mzatzin * 1084-1097: Lord 8 Deer ''Jaguar Claw'' (usurper) ** to Tilantongo

Zacatepec, ''Yucu Chatuta''

* 1120-?: Lord 11 Jaguar ''Tlaloc Fire Wall''

In Mixteca Alta

Achiutla, ''Ñuu Ndecu''

Pedernales-Achiutla dynasty * ?: Lord 11 Flower ''Cloud Xicolli'', with Lady 13 Wind ''Cloud Hair'' (siblings and spouses, children of Lord 4 Wind, King of ''Nuu Yuchi'') * ?: Lord 10 Aligator ''Digging Stick'' (father-in-law of Lord 2 Wind, King of Tlaxiaco) * ?: Lord 8 Wind ''Smoked Claw'' (brother-in-law of Lord 12 Deer, King of Tlaxiaco) * ?: Lord 7 Movement ''Blood Shedding Rain'' (son-in-law of 11 Wind, King of Tlaxiaco) * ?: Lord 9 Wind ''Sun Fire Serpent'' * ?: Lord 10 Aligator ''Jaguar with Claws like Flints'' (son of the previous)

''Water Rubber Ball'' (Chacahua? Manialtepec?)

* ?: Lord 9 Serpent (deposed) * ?-1115: Lord 8 Deer ''Jaguar Claw'' (usurper)

Andua

* c.887: Lord 12 Vulture ''Golden Eagle'' * ?: Lord 3 Monkey ''Mexican Jaguar''

Bulto de Xipe/Huachino

* ?: Lord 10 Movement * ?: Lord 12 Lizard * ?-1101: Lord 11 Wind ''Blood Jaguar'' (son of the previous) ** To Tilantongo (1101-1115) and ''Nuu Yuchi'' (1115-1164) * ?: Lord 6 Vulture ''Jaguar with Knife'' (son of Lord 9 Rain of Tlaxiaco)

Chalcatongo, ''Nuu Ndaya''

* ?: Lord 8 Aligator ''Bloody Coyote'' ** ?: Lord 3 Dog (son-in-law of Lord 8 Alligator, in the settlement of

Santa Catarina Yuxia Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christma ...

, ''Yuu Usa'') * ?: Lord 13 Jaguar ''War Beard'' (descendant)

Cholula

* ?: Lord 1 Lizard ''Serpent-Decorated Shield'', with Lady 11 Serpent ''Jewel Mouth'' (wife) * c.1096: Lord 4 Jaguar ''Night Face''

''Hill of the Mask''

Jaltepec, ''Añute''

Juquila, ''Nuu Sitoho''

* ?: Lord 1 Death ''Sun Serpent'', with Lady 11 Serpent ''Flower Quetzal Feathers'' (wife)

"Monkey"

* ?: Lord 7 Grass ''Bloody Jaguar''

Mitlatongo, ''Dzandaya''

* ?: Lord 1 Monkey

''Flower Mountain'', ''Yucu Ita''

* ?: Lord 11 Jaguar

''Broken Mountain''

* ?: Lady 1 Death

Place of Flints/Pedernales, ''Nuu Yuchi''

Quetzal

* ?: Lord 4 Stone ''Face with Quetzal Feathers''

Río de la Serpiente

* ?: Lord 3 Eagle

San Pedro Cántaros, ''Nuu Naha''

Teozacoalco dynasty * ?: Lord 1 House ''Jaguar Sky Assassin'' (son of Lord 8 Rabbit, King of Teozacoalco) * ?: Lord 6 Death ''Sun Rain'' (descendant, brother-in-law of Lord 6 Deer, King of Teozacoalco) * ?: Lord 3 Dog (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 3 Monkey (grandson of the previous)

''Place of the Drum'' (Soyaltepec) (?)

* ?: Lord 4 Jaguar ''Serpent War Snare''

Suchixtlán, ''Chiyo Yuhu''

Teita

* ?: Lord 10 Rabbit ''Heart'' * ?: Lord 13 Jaguar ''War Eagle''

Teozacoalco, ''Chiyo Cahnu''

Tilantongo, ''Ñuu Tnoo''

Tlaxiaco, ''Ndisi Nuu''

Totomihuacan

* ?: Lord 5 Eagle

Tula (Toltec)

* c.1096: Lord 4 Jaguar ''Night Face''

''Deep Valley''

* ?: Lord 12 Dog ''Eagle'', with Lady 5 Lizard ''Pulque-Zacate Vase'' (wife)

Yanhuitlán

* c.1320: Lord 6 Water ''Multicolored Feathers'' * c.1500?: Lady 1 Flower ''Jaguar Quexquemitl'', with Lord 8 Death ''Fire Serpent'' (husband; son of Lord 10 Rain, King of Teozacualco)

Zaachila Zaachila (the Zapotec name; Nahuatl: ''Teotzapotlan''; Mixtec: ''Ñuhu Tocuisi'') was a powerful Mesoamerican city in what is now Oaxaca, Mexico, from the city of Oaxaca. The city is named after Zaachila Yoo, the Zapotec ruler, in the late 14 ...
, ''Tocuisi'' (Zapotec)

In Mixteca Baja

Acatlan

* ?: Lord 1 Rain * ?: Lord 9 Reed (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 6 Deer (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 4 Dog (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 8 Flint (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 8 Alligator (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 7 Monkey (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 8 Movement (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 9 Flint (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 6 Water (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 4 Eagle (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 10 Reed (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 4 Flower (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 4 House (son of the previous) * ?-1519/20: ''Unknown'' (son of the previous) ** To the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Chila

* ?: Lord 10 Flint * ?: Lord 4 Deer (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 1 Eagle (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 13 Dog (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 13 Reed (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 2 Monkey (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 10 Monkey (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 10 Movement (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 3 House (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 8 Wind (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 6 Rabbit (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 13 Death (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 1 House (son of the previous) * ?: Lord 5 Monkey (son of the previous) * ?-1519/20: Lord 4 Dog (son of the previous) ** To the

Language, codices, and artwork

The

Mixtecan languages The Mixtecan languages constitute a branch of the Oto-Manguean languages, Oto-Manguean language family of Mexico. They include the Trique language, Trique (or Triqui) languages, spoken by about 24,500 people; Cuicatec language, Cuicatec, spoken b ...

(in their many variants) were estimated to be spoken by about 300,000 people at the end of the 20th century, although the majority of Mixtec speakers also had at least a working knowledge of the Spanish language. Some Mixtecan languages are called by names other than Mixtec, particularly Cuicatec (Cuicateco), and Triqui (or Trique). The Mixtec are well known in the anthropological world for their Codices or phonetic pictures in which they wrote their history and genealogies in deerskin in the "fold-book" form. The best-known story of the Mixtec Codices is that of Lord Eight Deer, named after the day in which he was born, whose personal name is Jaguar Claw, and whose epic history is related in several codices, including the

Codex Bodley The Codex Bodley is an important pictographic manuscript of the Mixtec Group and example of Mixtec historiography. It dates to circa 1500 in a variant of the Mixteca-Puebla style of Codex writing. Its colloquial name comes from the Bodleian Lib ...

and

Codex Zouche-Nuttall The Codex Zouche-Nuttall or Codex Tonindeye is an accordion-folded pre-Columbian document of Mixtec pictography, now in the collections of the British Museum. It is one of about 16 manuscripts from Mexico that are entirely pre-Columbian in origin ...

. He successfully conquered and united most of the Mixteca region. They were also known for their exceptional mastery of jewelry and mosaic, among which gold and turquoise figure prominently. Products by Mixtec goldsmiths formed an important part of the tribute the Mixtecs paid to the Aztecs during parts of their history. Turquoise mosaic masks also played an important role in both political and religious functions. These masks were used as gifts to form political alliances, in ceremonies during which the wearer of the mask impersonated a god, and were fixed to funerary bundles that were seen as oracles.

References

External links

{{Authority control Pre-Columbian cultures of Mexico Indigenous peoples in Mexico Mesoamerican cultures Archaeological cultures of North America