Citizendia

Part of the Huexotzinco Codex, printed on amatl.
Part of the Huexotzinco Codex, printed on amatl. The Huexotzinco Codex or Huejotzingo Codex is an eight-sheet document on Amatl, a pre-European paper made in Mesoamerica.

Amatl (Nahuatl: āmatl, Spanish: amate or papel amate) is a form of paper that was manufactured in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Nahuatl ( is a group of related languages and dialects of the Aztecan or Nahuan branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon printing upon or packaging The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined It is made by boiling the inner bark of several species of trees, particularly fig trees (genus Ficus) such as F. Boiling (also called ebullition) a type of Phase transition, is the rapid vaporization of a Liquid, which typically occurs when a liquid Bark, also known as periderm is the outermost layer of stems and Roots of Woody plants such as Trees It overlays the Wood and consists Ficus is a Genus of about 850 Species of woody Trees Shrubs Vines Epiphytes and hemi-epiphytes in the family A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic cotinifolia and F. padifolia. [1] The resulting fibrous material is pounded with a stone to produce a stretchy and somewhat delicate paper, colored light brown with corrugated lines.

Its use in Mesoamerica likely dates back to at least the Early Preclassic period of Mesoamerican chronology, in the early 1st millennium BCE. Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into a number of named successive eras or periods from the earliest evidence of human habitation The 1st millennium BC encompasses the Iron Age and sees the rise of successive empires Iconography (in stone) dating from the period contains depictions of items thought to be paper. For example, Monument 52 from the Olmec site of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán illustrates a personage adorned with ear pennants of folded paper. The Olmec were an ancient Pre-Columbian people living in the Tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in what are roughly the modern-day states San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán (or San Lorenzo) is the collective name for three related Archaeological sites -- San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán and Potrero Nuevo -- located [2]

Contents

Word origin

Although its manufacture and use was common throughout Mesoamerican cultures, the material is generally and contemporarily known and referred to by its Nahuatl-language name, amatl. [3] The Spanish word amate directly derives from the Nahuatl term. In both the 16th century and contemporary Yukatek Maya language, the equivalent word is kopo (modernised orthography, also rendered as copo in earlier orthographies). Yucatec Maya ("Maaya T'aan" in the revised Orthography of the Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala) is a Mayan language spoken in In the Classic Maya language, which was the main language appearing in most of the Maya hieroglyphics inscriptions, the equivalent is likely to have been huun (or hun), which also had the broader meaning of "book" or "bark". The Classic Maya language is the oldest historically-attested member of the Mayan language family. The Maya script, also known as Maya hieroglyphs, was the writing system of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently

Amate tree growing in northern Guerrero, Mexico.
Amate tree growing in northern Guerrero, Mexico. The State of Guerrero is a state in the southern meridional region of Mexico. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America.

Uses

The paper had both religious and secular uses. The paper would be painted using a brush and rolled up or folded for storage. It was used as a base material in the construction of several Mesoamerican cultures' accordion-folded books, including Maya codices and Aztec codices. Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Mesoamérica is a Region extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, defined Maya codices (singular Codex) are folding Books stemming from the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, written in Maya hieroglyphic Aztec codices (singular Codex) are Books written by Pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs

Papel amate as modern folk art form

Beginning in the early 20th century, several tribes among the Nahuatl language speakers of Mexico began developing paper amate paintings as an art-form primarily for trade or sale to tourists or other outsiders. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Today, examples of the form can be found throughout southwestern Mexico, particularly in the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Jalisco, ranging from low-art and very inexpensive prints on papel amate to elaborate narrative scenes that can fetch much higher prices in city markets and fine art galleries. The State of Guerrero is a state in the southern meridional region of Mexico. The Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), in Spanish phonemically /oa'xaka/ named for its largest city, is one of the Jalisco is a state in Mexico. The capital of Jalisco is the city of Guadalajara.

Like most folk art forms, very few papel amate painters have achieved individual recognition for their work—most pieces are purchased because they follow a tradition of representation rather than express an individual voice. Folk art describes a wide range of objects that reflect the Craft traditions and traditional social values of various social groups A few exceptions do exist, with most being family members who learned to paint together, including Inocencio Jimenez and Felix Jimenez Chino, Marcial, Juan and Felix Camilo Ayala, and Roberto and Abraham Mauricio Salazar. Abraham Mauricio Salazar is a Nahuatl Indian living in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Notes

  1. ^ Miller and Taube (1993, p. 131)
  2. ^ Miller and Taube (1993, p. 131)
  3. ^ Nahuatl languages were spoken by, among others, the Aztecs. Aztec is a term used to refer to certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who achieved political At around the time of the 16th-century Spanish conquest, Classical Nahuatl served as a lingua franca through much of central Mexico and surrounding regions, and Nahuatl terms were further spread and popularized by subsequent conquistador expeditions. Classical Nahuatl (also known as Aztec, and simply Nahuatl) is a term used to describe the variants of the Nahuatl language that were spoken in the A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely

References

Further reading

External links

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