The Codex Borgia

The Codex Borgia is one of the most significant surviving pre-Columbian ritual manuscripts from central Mexico, likely dating to the late 15th or early 16th century. It serves as a complex divinatory document, intricately painted on animal hide, designed to assist priests in interpreting the influence of deities over time and space through a sophisticated system of calendars and ritual cycles. The manuscript is part of the Borgia Group of codices, representing the intellectual and religious zenith of the Nahua peoples before the Spanish conquest.

This specific edition, edited by Bruce E. Byland and published by Dover Publications in 1993, reproduces the manuscript as a high-quality facsimile intended to make this elusive historical artifact accessible to researchers and the public. Dover’s commitment to reprinting historical records ensures that the delicate iconography and cosmological data remain preserved for study. The work has been widely lauded by historians for its faithfulness to the original aesthetic, providing an essential resource for those exploring the complex theology and graphic symbolism of ancient Mesoamerica.