entire face of one folio (pictorial and textual)

This is a record of an investigation into tributes and labor issues involving indigenous workers in the mines in Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico, in the sixteenth century. One section of text refers to eggs, fish, and melons provided as foodstuffs. Elsewhere, large numbers of hens (whether chickens or turkeys) had to be provided, along with bundles of tribute cloth, thin sheets, maize, and what appear to be rings to the Spanish overlords and their wives. Both indigenous men and women are indicated as laborers, including “Indian women who make bread (i.e. tortillas),” shown alongside a grinding stone for making the tortilla dough, and others who had to work as servants in the houses of Spaniards. Men are shown (in tears?) carrying the wives of Spanish colonial officials in hammocks attached to poles. A head count of male laborers appears at the top of the page, each head with a flag indicating twenty, for a total of 240 workers. (Stephanie Wood)