Papers by Gerardo Gutierrez
Innovations and Transformations in Mesoeamerican Research, 2023
Multiple fragments of the so-called Codex Cardona began to circulate among street markets, boutiq... more Multiple fragments of the so-called Codex Cardona began to circulate among street markets, boutique bookstores, and art galleries of Mexico City, the US and Europe between the 1970 and 1990. It is estimated that this large format manuscript has 800 pages and 300 colorful plates describing key historical passages and geographic descriptions of the key towns and villages of Mexico after the Conquest and during the first century of Spanish domination. Nevertheless, many scholars have expressed skepticism as to the authenticity of this mesmerizing mammoth-sized document. A recent controversy in Mexico has again raised this issue, as a Spanish gallery purchased one of these Cardona fragments and has recently sold it for US $200,000. Upon the request of the Biblioteca Nacional de Antropología e Historia, INAH, I inspected and analyzed the materiality of one of the purported fragments of the Codex Cardona in Mexico with portable spectrometry. I present in this poster the results of these scientific analyses and a tale of caution about one of the most elaborate forgery schemes known for Mexican manuscripts.
The Smoking Mirror, 2020
After 54 years of polemics about the Codex Grolier, INAH, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología ... more After 54 years of polemics about the Codex Grolier, INAH, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia of Mexico finally decided to undertake major scientific studies on this document to evaluate its authenticity. During 2017, several research teams analyzed the codex using both non-invasive and invasive methods to produce the largest scientific corpus of data ever created for any Mesoamerican codex to date. Here, I present the results of the tests undertaken by the Colors of History Project and Laboratory of the University of Colorado-Boulder. The presence of the pigment Maya Blue was confirmed; in addition, no modern inks or materials were found, and three more AMS C 14 dates placed the manufacture of the document in the Early Postclassic period. All of the material evidence rejects the idea that this document was a fabrication of the 20 th century; instead, the various studies support the authenticity of the Códice Maya de Mexico and place it as the oldest surviving book manufactured in the Americas.
Economic Anthropology, 2022
Here we revisit the decline of Indigenous populations of North America by using the concept of pe... more Here we revisit the decline of Indigenous populations of North America by using the concept of perceived risk. We argue that the root cause behind Indigenous depopulation in North America was not the lack of immunological defenses against novel pathogens introduced to the New World from the Old World, a hypothesis known as "Virgin Soil." Certainly many Indigenous people died of disease, but so did many Euro-American colonizers. The populations of colonizers rebounded, as most populations do, but Indigenous populations could not recover because of colonizer violence and the persistent marginalization perpetrated against them. We show that European settlers promoted and practiced an ideology of domination based on an exaggerated perception of risk against Indigenous communities. On the basis of colonial prejudices, they created a distorted perception of Native Americans that depicted them as dangerous savages, un-Christian, and untrustworthy. Native Americans were seen as capable of damaging the life and property of the colonists and as incapable of being assimilated by them. Colonists assessed the Indigenous groups as an unacceptable and intolerable risk that had to be eliminated, irrespective of the financial cost of waging war on them. This ideology of risk has continued to impact the lives and well-being of Indigenous people for more than five hundred years as demonstrated by the elevated deaths from COVID-19 for Native Americans and other persons of color. Structural inequalities derived from the ideology of risk are behind the deaths of Indigenous people even today. Risk can be approached as the probability of occurrence of a hazardous event and its consequences (risk = probability of loss/gain * danger * exposure * vulnerability). Specialists in the social sciences know that risk involves a balance between profit and loss, and there is risk associated with every aspect of life (Douglas 1985; Douglas and Wildavsky 1982). Indeed, risk-aversion behaviors may bring high opportunity costs, such as the loss of income to individuals or groups, and may be irrational from the point of view of classical economic theory (Blaikie et al. 1994). High risk, high returns is at the core of modern financial and insurance markets, on which the modern economy relies. Nevertheless, the public approaches risk based on the negative consequences and threats to human life, on bodily injury, or on loss of welfare due to external dangers outside their control. Risk assessment by most laypeople tends to be based on perception, and it is easily manipulated by propagation of irrational fear. We
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE STUDY OF OUTBREAKS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC COEVOLUTION, EMERGENCE, AND RESURGENCE OF PATHOGENS THROUGH HISTORY, 2021
Archaeologists can contribute to a broader knowledge of pandemics by revisiting the social factor... more Archaeologists can contribute to a broader knowledge of pandemics by revisiting the social factors behind ancient epidemics, gathering data from archaeological sites associated with specific outbreaks. Past epidemics have impacted large sectors of the population in affected regions, disrupted economic activities, and increased
social unrest. A pandemic like COVID-19 demands that we assess our weaknesses and strengths as a global society, or as societies across the world. The present pandemic encourages us to pause and to remember that, despite dwelling in artificial environments provided by powerful social and technological systems, we are still subject to ecological checks. It is precisely during moments of crisis when we can better observe structural
inequalities within our home communities and our global community more broadly. These are the right moments for taking political action to attack the root causes that produce and maintain vulnerabilities and inequalities.
El Códice Maya de México, antes Grolier., 2019
Last article written by Michael D. Coe, Yale University, reviewing the scientific analysis of th... more Last article written by Michael D. Coe, Yale University, reviewing the scientific analysis of the Codice Maya de Mexico undertaken by University of Colorado, INAH and UNAM.
Se analiza el Códice Maya de México con imágenes multiespectrales y el espectrómetro de fibra ópt... more Se analiza el Códice Maya de México con imágenes multiespectrales y el espectrómetro de fibra óptica de reflectancia (FORS).
Se estudia la variación de reflectancia de imprimatura y pigmentos entre diferentes secciones del... more Se estudia la variación de reflectancia de imprimatura y pigmentos entre diferentes secciones del Códice Maya de México a través de imágenes hiper-espectrales. Se crean espectros de reflectancia de los materiales del códice.
Se analiza la composición elemental del Códice Maya de México, antes llamado Grolier, con espectr... more Se analiza la composición elemental del Códice Maya de México, antes llamado Grolier, con espectrometría XRF. No se encuentran elementos que apoyen que este documento sea una falsificación o haya sido alterado para hacer pasar materiales modernos como antiguos.
En este capítulo se analiza la materialidad del Códice Maya de México a través de un análisis det... more En este capítulo se analiza la materialidad del Códice Maya de México a través de un análisis detallado de su superficie por fotomacrografía. Se resalta que la mayoría de los académicos que han escrito acerca de este códice no lo han observado directamente y fundan sus argumentos con base en un número reducido de tomas fotográficas del documento. Esto ocasiona que se repitan juicios incorrectos acerca de la materialidad del códice. Hasta el momento ningún estudio previo había publicado imágenes de las microestructuras del códice con las magnificaciones adecuadas, por lo que esta investigación incluyó una toma completa del documento en fotomacrografía.
Se refina el fechamiento del Códice Maya de México por medio de la Espectrometría de Aceleración... more Se refina el fechamiento del Códice Maya de México por medio de la Espectrometría de Aceleración de Masas C14. Se ubica este códice firmemente en el Posclásico temprano, con una alta densidad de probabilidad entre los años 1021 y 1154 d.C.
Prehistoric Games of North American Indians, 2017
I argue here that Mesoamerican acrobacy and games were performed not as mere entertainment but as... more I argue here that Mesoamerican acrobacy and games were performed not as mere entertainment but as "ritual Merriment.” By this, I mean that game, joy, and laughter were driving forces in the creation of the universe and rested at the core of Mesoamerican religious beliefs and practices.
The objective of this chapter is to address the Aztec provinces of the Southern Highlands of Mexi... more The objective of this chapter is to address the Aztec provinces of the Southern Highlands of Mexico, in particular a group of six provinces in the middle Balsas River basin of Guerrero: Tlachco, Tepequacuilco, Tlapan, Tlalcoc;:auhtitlan, Quiauhteopan, Yoaltepec; three provinces in the highlands of western Oaxaca: Coayxtlahuacan, Coyolapan, Tlachquiauco; and one province in the Pacific coastal plain: Cihuatlan. Together these 10 provinces were structured by 95 native states depicted as tributaries of the Aztec Empire in the Codex Mendoza. These states were composed of smaller segments or parts (parcialidades) dotting an intricate political landscape, likely comprising between 1,000 to 2,000 settlements of varying sizes that remain to be studied.
This chapter examines the negotiated identities of race, class, and status in Mexico since the co... more This chapter examines the negotiated identities of race, class, and status in Mexico since the colonial period and argues that people phenotypically and culturally regarded as Indian were subjected to social and legal discrimination that have kept the indigenous groups in a state of structural poverty, affecting their socioeconomic status, well-being, and health.
The introduction of European heraldry in the Americas created a special class of material culture... more The introduction of European heraldry in the Americas created a special class of material culture and iconography that circulated widely on coins, paper, architecture, and textiles. More interestingly, its appropriation and use by indigenous communities has not received proper
archaeological attention. In this paper I analyze the adoption of royal Spanish heraldry by Nahua political systems (altepetl) during the Colonial period, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. My primary goal is to understand the context, meaning, and social
practices for three late colonial banners from eastern Guerrero—the Lienzos de Chiepetlan IV, V, and VI. I argue that these three banners
can be treated as moveable pieces of a complex heraldic ensemble to form the full ornamented coat of arms of the Spanish king. These three banners permit us to compare and contrast indigenous narratives of allegiance and resistance to Spanish imperialism.
Editors dumbarton oaKs r EsEarcH libr ary and collEction wasHi ngton, d.c.
trustees for harvard university, Washington, d.c. all rights reserved. Printed in the united stat... more trustees for harvard university, Washington, d.c. all rights reserved. Printed in the united states of america library of congress cataloging-in-Publication data Merchants, markets, and exchange in the Pre-columbian world / kenneth g. hirth and Joanne Pillsbury, editors. p. cm. -(dumbarton oaks Pre-columbian symposia and colloquia) includes index. ISBn 978-0-88402-386-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. indians of Mexico-commerce. 2. indians of Mexico-economic conditions. 3. indians of Mexicoantiquities. 4. indians of central america-commerce. 5. indians of central america-economic conditions. 6. indians of central america-antiquities. 7. indians of south america-andes regioncommerce. 8. indians of south america-andes region-economic conditions. 9. indians of south america-andes region-antiquities. i. hirth, ken. ii. Pillsbury, Joanne. f1219.3.c6m49 2013 972´.01-dc23 2012022302 general editors: Joanne Pillsbury and Mary e. Pye art director: kathleen sparkes design and composition: Melissa tandysh Managing editor: sara taylor Volume based on papers presented at the Pre-columbian studies symposium "Merchants, trade, and exchange in the Pre-columbian World," held at dumbarton oaks research library and collection, Washington, d.c., on october 8-9, 2010.
dum ba rton oa k s pre -c olum b ia n symp osia and c oll o quia
Tenochtitlan became an imperial city in its own right, but its urban form and infrastructure were... more Tenochtitlan became an imperial city in its own right, but its urban form and infrastructure were also shaped by enormous economic resources and human capital, which the Aztecs extracted from all over Mesoamerica. As a city represents the spirit of the Aztecs, as well as the most refined expression of Mesoamerican urbanism.
Cultural Impacts of Hurricanes along the Pacific Coast of Mexico at the eve of Hurricane Stan.
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Papers by Gerardo Gutierrez
social unrest. A pandemic like COVID-19 demands that we assess our weaknesses and strengths as a global society, or as societies across the world. The present pandemic encourages us to pause and to remember that, despite dwelling in artificial environments provided by powerful social and technological systems, we are still subject to ecological checks. It is precisely during moments of crisis when we can better observe structural
inequalities within our home communities and our global community more broadly. These are the right moments for taking political action to attack the root causes that produce and maintain vulnerabilities and inequalities.
archaeological attention. In this paper I analyze the adoption of royal Spanish heraldry by Nahua political systems (altepetl) during the Colonial period, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. My primary goal is to understand the context, meaning, and social
practices for three late colonial banners from eastern Guerrero—the Lienzos de Chiepetlan IV, V, and VI. I argue that these three banners
can be treated as moveable pieces of a complex heraldic ensemble to form the full ornamented coat of arms of the Spanish king. These three banners permit us to compare and contrast indigenous narratives of allegiance and resistance to Spanish imperialism.
social unrest. A pandemic like COVID-19 demands that we assess our weaknesses and strengths as a global society, or as societies across the world. The present pandemic encourages us to pause and to remember that, despite dwelling in artificial environments provided by powerful social and technological systems, we are still subject to ecological checks. It is precisely during moments of crisis when we can better observe structural
inequalities within our home communities and our global community more broadly. These are the right moments for taking political action to attack the root causes that produce and maintain vulnerabilities and inequalities.
archaeological attention. In this paper I analyze the adoption of royal Spanish heraldry by Nahua political systems (altepetl) during the Colonial period, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. My primary goal is to understand the context, meaning, and social
practices for three late colonial banners from eastern Guerrero—the Lienzos de Chiepetlan IV, V, and VI. I argue that these three banners
can be treated as moveable pieces of a complex heraldic ensemble to form the full ornamented coat of arms of the Spanish king. These three banners permit us to compare and contrast indigenous narratives of allegiance and resistance to Spanish imperialism.
de Información Geográfica del CIESAS presenta los recursos disponibles para la comunidad académica del CIESAS con la finalidad de apoyar la investigación social mediante el uso de nuevas tecnologías digitales. Texto a cargo de Israel Hinojosa (técnico del laboratorio SIG del CIESAS-DF) y del investigador
Gerardo Gutiérrez Mendoza (CIESAS-DF)
los antiguos huastecos se conoce con el nombre de Huasteca o Huastecas, que geográficamente abarca porciones de los actuals estados de San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Hidalgo,
Veracruz y Tamaulipas. En este trabajo se estudia la extensión de la Pan-Huaxteca.
de la expansión mexica en el oriente de Guerrero,
enfocándome en la interpretación del paisaje creado
por un campo de batalla prehispánico que se representa
en documentos pictográficos provenientes del antiguo
reino de Tlapa.