This map (1) was drawn in 1768 by José Alzate y Ramírez, a Roman Catholic priest who embraced the ideas of the Enlightenment and devoted his life to the study of all branches of natural science. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of scientific journalism and his efforts mirrored the interests of the APS to gather, understand and disseminate useful knowledge.

The map shows much of Spanish America with a condensed view of California north of San Diego, the location of Indian tribes, and Louisiana, years before the territorial purchase of Thomas Jefferson (APS 1780)

The Codice Messicano di Bologna (2) is an 1898 copy of a 1565 transcription of a codex, or bound manuscript, of the Aztec who flourished in the areas around Puebla and Tlaxcala (central Mexico). One of the fundamental concepts of the Aztec religion was the grouping of all beings according to the four cardinal points of the compass and up and down.

A rich source of historical information about the Maya civilization also comes from codices. The Maya developed a sophisticated writing system that included pictures, symbols, ideograms, and phonetic signs painted on the inner bark of a wild species of Ficus with a surface of a fine sizing of lime. They recorded the history and lineage of their rulers and the images in the codices provide clues about Maya ceremonies, court life, wars, astronomy, and calendars. The calendar system included tables for predicting events and scheduling religious ceremonies that were based on solar and lunar cycles as well as the cycle of Venus.

A few Maya hieroglyphic books have survived today known as Dresden, Madrid, Paris, and Grolier Codices. The American Philosophical Society publication, J. Eric Thompson’s A Commentary on the Dresden Codex: A Maya Hieroglyphic Book (Philadelphia: APS, 1972) includes this dedication:

       “To the American People
in whose ebullient land I spent many happy and profitable years,
and whose Maya scholars, past and present, have been for me an unending stimulus, such as I could have enjoyed nowhere else. From them I learned.
       The heart can dwell in many lands.”
 

1. José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez.  Nuevo Mapa Geographico del la America Septentironal (Paris : Dezauche, 1768)
This map by the Mexican-born cleric and scientist José Antonio de Alzate y Ramírez is among the earliest maps to locate the Province of Texas (“Provincia de los Texas”).  The map shows the route of French naval officer Pierre-Marie-Francois Pagés through Louisiana, Texas, and Mexico along with Native American tribes residing in the area.

2. Codice Messicano di Bologna.
Loubat, J.F. (Joseph Florimond); Ranuzzi Cospi, Ferdinando Vincenzo Antonio.  Descripción del Códice Cospiano: Manuscrito pictórico del los antíguos Náuas que se conserva en la Biblioteca de la Universidad de Bolonia (1565 transcription, reproduced Rome 1898).

The original manuscript was reproduced on thick paper, with parchment covers, in imitation of the original binding, gilt; on the front cover “Libro del Messico donato dal sig’ co: Valerio Zani al sig. march. Cospi, il di XXVI dic MDCLXV.”  The text, bound in boards, and the facsimiles are enclosed in a wood case, half bound, lettered Codice messicano di Bologna. 

A codex is a bound manuscript, usually an ancient book or ancient mythological or historical annal, distinguished from a scroll.