El Códice de Tepeucila

the long version

"This virtually unknown codex, housed in the Archivo General de Indias, is related to a 16th-century judicial suit pitting the Cuicatec people of Tepeucila (Oaxaca) complaining of excessive tribute assessments against their encomendero, Andrés de Tapia. Particularly fascinating here is the story of the tactics employed by Tapia's lawyers, who tried mightly to discredit the pictorial as a 'true' record, and the revealing forensic wrangling over exactly how to interpret the codex as acceptable evidence in a court case. Thoughtful analysis and commentary"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.