Lienzo de la Gran Chinantla, [between 1550 and 1599].

The lienzo is a map of the region near the modern San Juan Bautista Valle Nacional in the Chinantec region of northern Oaxaca, Mexico. Shown on the map are several rivers, 37 native houses with thatch roofs, and surrounding mountains. Most of the houses are in pairs; within the doorway of one house is a Christian cross (representing the Church) and an Indian seated on a stool with a vertical back (representing the "tecpan" or government house) is depicted within the doorway of the other. At the center are three larger houses. The largest of these is identified by a sewn-on glossed slip of paper as Santa Maria la Natividad Chinantla Grande, the probable provenance of this native document. Near these central houses are several groups of Indians seated on small stools. Two of the Indians are identified by gloss number 5 (see below) Encircling three sides of the central part of the composition and extending across much of the lienzo is a long line of Indians, most of whom face in the same direction. At the beginning of the line only the heads of the Indians are shown. Toward the end of the line the Indians are shown seated on small stools and dressed in native costume. Most of the Indians in this line are men but the final figure is a woman. The next to the last figure is a man dressed in a black costume and hat. Some of the outlines of the figures have been strengthened with a very black ink and the black hats worn by the man mentioned above and by another near the center may be later additions. Other titles: Mapa de la Gran Chinantla, Añp de 1521; Mapa de la Gran Chinantla.