Mexico codex exhibit sheds light on death of Aztec emperor Moctezuma

MEXICO CITY Mexicos largest exhibit of Mesoamerican manuscripts features a codex made of fig tree bark suggesting that Aztec emperor Moctezuma was slain by a Spanish conquistador with a sword.

The piece is among 44 codices made by several pre-Columbian populations including the Mayas, Purepechas and Zapotecos on display at the National Museum of Anthropology.

Some of the pieces in the temporary exhibit, titled Codices of Mexico: Memories and Wisdom, are as large as 10 sq. meters (108 sq. feet).

One cost the government $1 million to buy from the Bible Society in Britain.

Its the biggest codex exhibit (in Mexico), curator Baltazar Brito, director of the National Anthropology and History Library, said.

The codices were written by tlacuilos, which in Mayan means a person who carves stones.

The ancient manuscripts present a vision of history from the point of view of the people who were subdued after the conquest, Brito said.

They are a very important demonstration of the knowledge acquired by Mesoamerican peoples throughout their history.

The collections centerpiece is the Chimalpahin codex, which the government bought in May from the Bible Society to stop it from being auctioned off.

The manuscript was made by indigenous historians Domingo Chimalpahin (1579-1660) and Alva Ixtlilxochitl (1578-1650).

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Mexico codex exhibit sheds light on death of Aztec emperor Moctezuma