The map of Cuzalapa, Jalisco, a first territorial approach

Abstract

The Cuzalapa painting corresponds to a pictorial map that serves as the primary title of this indigenous community of the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve, in southern Jalisco. Through the analysis of the represented territory, the complexity of the map is revealed, a tentative dating of the landscape’ elements is proposed, and the possibility of an evolution in the function of the document is questioned. Both the glosses, place names and details in the general style of the composition point to an early elaboration ─possibly from the 16th century─ which would be inscribed in the context of border’s shaping between the kingdoms of New Spain and New Galicia.