Indian Languages Database
Record Details
Storia antica del Messico cavata dâ migliori storici spagnuoli, e dâ manoscritti, e dalle pitture antiche degl’ Indiani.
Cesena: Gregorio Biasini, 1780
Physical Description: 4 vols. in two : ill., maps, geneal. tables, ports. ; 27 cm. (4to) v.1: vii, [1], 303, [3], 303-306 [i.e. 307-310], [2] leaves of plates (1 folded); v.2: 276 p., [17] leaves of plates (4 folded); v.3: 260 p., [2] leaves of plates (1 folded); v.4: 331, [1] p.
Call number: B780/ C617s/ 1-SIZE/ v.1-2
Accession number: 07461
Notes: Contains Nahuatl vocabulary relating to natural history; religious, calendrical, and numerical systems; and abstract concepts.
Natural history vocabulary includes terms for flora, fauna, and minerals (v.1, p. 44-116) and “Catalogo dei quadrupedi americani” (v.4, p. 151-159), a list of over 100 animals including many native terms.
Terms for deities, festivals, years, months, and days (v.2, p. 57-61, 65-67, 129 [i.e. 229]-247) are supplemented by related vocabulary in “Spiegazione delle figure oscure” (v.2, p. 248-257), an exegesis of symbols used for calendar wheels, cities, and kings (illustrated on leaves facing v.2, p. 64 and p. 192), and in “Lettera del Sig. Abate D. Lorenzo Hervás all’ autore sul calendario messicano” (v.2, p. 258-266).
“Su la lingua Messicana” (v.4, p. 240-247) contains Nahuatl numerical terms and “Saggio di voci messicane significanti concetti metafisici e morali”, listing over 50 terms in Nahuatl with Italian equivalents in parallel columns.
“Catalogo d’alcuni autori europei e creogli, che hanno scritto della dotrina e morale cristiana nelle lingue della Nuova Spagna” (v.4, p. 262-263) groups authors under 15 language headings: Messicana, Otomita, Tarasca, Zapoteca, Mizteca, Maya, Totonaca, Popoluca, Matlazinca, Huaxteca, Mixe, Kiche’, Cakciquel, Taraumara, Tepehuana; a list of “Autori di grammatiche e dizionari delle suddette lingue” (v.4, p. 264-265) includes all the same languages with the exception of Kiche’.
Chiefly a synthesis derived from other published sources, especially Torquemada.
To access digital facsimile copy of volume 1 of this book, click here. Volume 2 may be seen here.
Languages: Nahuatl
Genre: Vocabulary
Region: Spanish America
