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full view

full view

This is a full view of the map of San Pedro Tlahuac (originally, Cuitlahuac) that is located in the Archivo General de la Nación, Mexico. This is a copy of a mural that was painted in the friary of San Pedro at an earlier time (prior to 1656). Other towns appear around the perimeter. The exciting thing about this view of Tlahuac is the way it shows how the lake had been transformed in pre-Hispanic times into farmland, with strips that are called chinampas today. These chinampas are represented by the dark rectangles that go different directions. The waterways show currents and swirls in a style reminiscent of pre-Hispanic codices. Of course, the churches—along with the sheep or goats in the corral on the hillside—are a giveaway that the historic moment captured in the mural was a Spanish colonial one. The indigenous painter, the artist who painted the mural in the church, however, must have still known pre-Hispanic painting traditions. The mountains north of San Pedro that appear on this map may represent the Sierra de Santa Catarina. (Stephanie Wood; and see the introductory overview by Richard Conway.)