tlachihualtepetl (CholRG)

https://collections.lib.utexas.edu/catalog/utblac:bfe9df59-d0c1-46a6-8c4...
This map (original: 31 x 44 cm.) of Cholollan (modern spelling: Cholula), from 1581 and housed in the Benson Library at the University of Texas, Austin, which considers it to be in the public domain. It is an indigenous-authored map that was made in response to questionnaires from the Spanish crown about its colonial possessions. Responses to the questionnaires were called Relaciones Geográficas (RG). The map’s glosses are in Nahuatl and Spanish, and the style is mixed indigenous-European. This is an urban plan of the heart of Cholula, emphasizing a grid pattern, which was of special interest to the colonizers. Several altepetl (Nahua socio-political units) are encompassed by the map, although they are called “cabezeras” (cabeceras, Spanish for head town) on the map. San Gabriel is the principal church of the many churches shown. The market square, “tianquizco,” holds a prominent, central place. A fountain occupies this space.