Codex Bodley

Also known as the Codex Ñuu Tnoo – Ndisi Nuu, the Codex Bodley is one of the few surviving pre-colonial, handwritten testimonies to the Mixtec culture that once dominated the region of present-day Oaxaca in Mexico. Made from deer skin, the screenfold book from the beginning of the 16th century tells the story of the Mixtec capital Ñuu Tnoo, today Tilantongo, on the obverse and the dynastic histories of Ndisi Ñuu, today Tlaxiaco, and Achiutla on the reverse using colored pictograms that are still captivating today. They are painted in bustrophedon manner on the pages, meaning that the reading direction changes with each line – just like the ox plows. On the reverse, this zig-zag pattern is made even more complex by the alternation of bustrophedon lines and columns. In return, the most important personalities portrayed in the chronicles can always be clearly identified, as they are usually given attributes corresponding to their name as well as their date of birth, making them unmistakable.