“They worked remarkable things without iron, using only stones”: A Study of Construction Tools in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco

Abstract

This article gives insight into the construction tools in Mesoamerica following the arrival of Europeans in the sixteenth century. The introduction of European tools transformed the way workers carried out their tasks and spurred the development of new architectural production techniques. However, this process was not immediate: the new tools coexisted with their Mesoamerican counterparts in a gradual process of adaptation.
This phenomenon might be better understood through an analysis of the Matrícula de Huexotzinco. This sixteenth-century pictographic census records people’s occupations through glyphs, many of which represent the tools used in their trades. Thus, this document provides evidence of the variety of instruments used for construction in Huejotzingo.
To achieve the expected results, the study first seeks to demonstrate the usefulness of this source in understanding technological evolution in construction. This is followed by an analysis of the types of tools represented, identifying the continuity of certain instruments from the Mesoamerican world and the introduction of others of European origin. Finally, the study considers the possibility that the persistence of certain tools influenced the architectural production techniques of the era.