Tribute from the City of Tlatelolco. Codex Mendoza, 1541-1650 (pictorial manuscript)

MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1, fol. 19r. Tribute from the City of Tlatelolco ("On the Round Earth Mound"). One city, yielding: (constantly) repairs to the temple of Huitxnahuac; (every eighty days) 40 large baskets of cacao ground with maize flour, called cacahuapinoli, 40 baskets of chia mixed with maize flour, called chianpinoli, 800 large white mantas; (annually) 40 white cuextecatl warrior costumes and their shields, 40 yellow cuextecatl warrior costumes and their shields. This first illustrated page of the Tribute List is atypical, since it shows the tribute of only one major city (joined to the imperial capital) and includes labour duties of maintenance for a specific temple (top left). Tlatelolco (conquered by Axayacatl, 1473) was situated close to Tenochtitlan on the same island in Lake Texcoco, and included the empire's most important marketplace. Tlatelolco's name-glyph appears at the bottom right, with two of its defeated rulers, whilst Tenochtitlan appears on the left, with two successive conquerors named as Itzcoatl (1428-40) and Axayacatl (1470-81): the latter’s decisive conquest of Tlatelolco is also depicted on fol. 10r above. The four coloured discs midway down on the left symbolize twenty days each, together symbolizing the eighty-day period for goods in the first category of regular payments.