1. The registration system used in pictographic documents catalogued as cartographic or historical-cartographic from the early colonial era (Glass 1975 ) probably has its origin in the pre-Hispanic era. The historical-cartographic documents often, on the one hand, mark the trajectory and route of migrations and conquests; and on the other hand, record lands and borders of the lords who produced the paintings. The principal objective of the production of these maps and canvases is, almost always, political and territorial to justify the reasons for which they claim to defend certain lands, including the involved lords or estates. For better information on the cartographic and historical cartographic documents of different owners and their registration systems, see Boone (2000), Caso (1949), Dibble (1951), Douglas (2010), Glass (1975), Leibsohn (2009), Melgarejo Vivanco (1970, 2015), Smith (1973), Mundy (1996), Williams and Hicks (2011), and Yoneda (1981, 1991, 1994, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010).

2. The sixteen planos reviewed for the present chapter, which share general characteristics that are explained soon, in general measure approximately 21.5 cm × 31.5 cm, with the exception of Plano 9b (28 cm × 34.5 cm), Plano 16 (39 cm × 43 cm), and Plano 29b (24 cm × 31 cm).

3. From here on, I will cite this work as Documentos nahuas or with the complete title.

4. The collective project I-8a was ascribed to the institution in the period of transition from CISINAH to CIESAS in 1979–1980 and was coordinated by Joaquín Galarza and Keiko Yoneda. The manuscript is dated 1981. This investigation did, however, remain inconclusive, leaving two volumes of preliminary, unfinished manuscripts (Yoneda et al. 1981 , Ms.): (vol. 1) typological classification of the component elements of the planos (graphic repertoire); and (vol. 2) preliminary analysis of the elements that contain the planos, by means of the comparison between the planos and the texts in Nahuatl and in Spanish of the reunited files in Documentos nahuas.

5. In Appendix 6.A (end of this chapter), I present the data on these sixteen planos as the number of the plano assigned in the study, the location and year of the document, and the names of the major and minor neighborhoods. Through this study, I refer to each plano with the number used in Yoneda et al. (1981, Ms.) noted in this figure.

6. For now, it is not known why the measurement mitl is the only unit of longitudinal measure used to measure houses and lands that doesn’t have an apparent relation with the human body (see Matías Alonso 1984 ). I think, in that regard, that the measurement mitl, which is translated as “the span from the elbow to the other hand” in paragraphs 403 and 981 in the Documentos nahuas, originates from the position of the arms and hands when they place an arrow in a bow in preparation for shooting an arrow. In this manner, it is explained that the measurement mitl in reality has a close relationship with the human body when the body is preparing to shoot and, it is probable, a close relationship to the indigenous concept of using the bow and arrow with dexterity, with these instruments conceived as an extension of their own bodies.

7. The translation of these measurements can vary. See Matías Alonso (1984), Lockhart (1999 :209, fig. V. 1.)

8. In the forms of the glyph of maitl there is a great variety, and in many of the forms there is a noticeable occidental influence in how they are stylized. Some glyphs of yolohtli look like hearts of metallic votive offerings or of paintings from the Catholic religion.

9. Thus, the people of Tenochtitlan obtained their first tlatoani (ruler) from the Culhuacan lineage, while those of Tlatelolco received theirs from Azcapotzalco. By means of these matrimonial and military alliances, the Mexicas succeed in improving their political position and became allies of the tepanecas from Azcapotzalco. When Huitzilihuitl ruled Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the Mexicas conquered the colhuas, the people from the town where their ruling lineage came from. Upon the death of Tezozomoc, lord of Azcapotzalco and ally-protector of the Mexicas, Maxtla, the successor to Tezozomoc, assumed the throne. Given that there was no alliance between the Mexicas and Maxtla, this time the Mexicas allied themselves with the acolhuas from Texcoco and defeated the tepanecas in 1430.

10. I refer to the construction of the wall/cistern because planos 9 and 9b, analyzed later, have to do with the sale of freshwater.

11. Ten of the sixteen planos have the element of water as chinampas and canals, only canals, or a dike. It is observed as a rule to draw the chinampas and canals in the lower part, or on the right side of the planos, since five of the ten planos have canals and chinampas or another type of water (only canals, dike) in the lower part, four plans draw them in the right side, and one plan puts the element in the upper part.

12. Yoneda’s clarification.

13. Kobayashi (1993 :54) explains as follows the hierarchical relationship between a tlatoani and a hueytlatoani: “The estates of the basin of Mexico varied greatly in their population and territorial extension. Consequently, some were under the intervention of the other, more powerful tlatoani. For example, the hueytlatoani of Tenochtitlan imposed his calpixque on the estates of the Basin of Mexico and its environs.”

14. The definition of calpulli was a topic of discussion between academics since the work presented by Bandelier (1966). Gibson (1967 :263) in note 1 comments on the studies that correct Bandelier’s idea. L. Reyes García (1996) and H. Martínez (2000) present other reflections to specify the definition in the sense that calpulli doesn’t represent a self-sufficient community of the macehualli that existed in the prehispanic era, and should be better recognized as a synonym of tlaxilacalli, tecalli, tecpan, or tlahtocayo. In spite of the fact that many decades have already passed since scholars started to correct the proposal made by Bandelier (1966), to date, researchers exist that repeat his same proposal.

15. Tlaxilacalli was translated as neighborhood or señorío in the documents in Spanish (Gibson 1967 :37).

16. It seems there are terms that include concepts associated with the land or the locality where the seats of political and territorial units are established, connected to the supernatural entity attributed to the place and the ritual that was practiced in the entity’s honor, such as altepetl, calpulli, and tlaxilacalli. Other terms underline more, rather, the authority and political territory of the aforementioned entity (Reyes García 1996; P. Carrasco 1996 :146; Lockhart 1999:235).

17. I consider that rather a family or a “domestic unit” possessed hueca tlalli or inic oncan tlalli.

18. In Plano 4 reviewed for the present study, the lands are drawn in Tola that aren’t found next to the calli (house, accommodation) wherein lived the owners of the calli. In some records written in Latin, characters published in the Documentos nahuas also refer to the lands located far from the place where the owners lived.

19. (2. Calpolalli) lands of the calpulli. The right of corporation was strong, and these lands were subject to allocation. (3. Tequitcatlalli. Tequitlalli.) land with obligations of tribute. Essentially, they are the same lands as calpolalli (Lockhart 1999 :231, fig. V.3.).

20. As already mentioned above, the majority of the measurements of the pages of the 16 planos consulted for the present study are about 21.5 cm × 31.5 cm, with the exception of Plano 9b (28 cm × 34.5 cm), Plano 16 (38 cm × 43 cm), and Plano 29b (24 cm × 31 cm).

21. See Yoneda (1996 :ch. IV; 2007, 2010).

22. In some of these suits, women don’t only participate in the disputes as litigants but are the ones who “talk” when their husbands silently file the complaint (Gibson 1967 :154n75).

23. Kellogg notes that these characterizations of the indios and other characteristics of the Spanish start to disappear through the sixteenth–seventeenth centuries.

24. María Teuchon appears as María Tiacapan (paragraph 177) and María Papan (paragraphs 179 and 180). The motive for these variations is unknown for now. Besides, in the title of the third document it says María Teuhcho, and in paragraph 198 of the same document, María Teucchon. She is mentioned, also, as María Tecuicchon in the title of the fourth document. Gabriel Yaotl appears referred to, as well, as Graviel or Grabiel (paragraphs 202 and 191).

25. In accordance with Yoneda et al. (1981, Ms. Vol. 1), the separated “Position of the planos” mentions that Plano 9b seems to be missing after it was photographed in 1978. Based on the upper/lower relationship of the text in the following page, I determined the position of the plano in such a way that the chinampas are located in the lower part of the page. It should be noted that the position in which Plano 9b is published in the book Documentos nahuas is turned 180 degrees, leaving the upper and lower parts inverted.

26. “ . . . and the land on which the house is located measures seven brazas in width, and eleven [brazas] in length with three chinamitl” (Documentos nahuas: paragraph 176).

27. As Fray Alonso de Molina (1977) mentions, acalli means canoe, and in fact there is a glyph of a canoe in the water, but in the case of this file, I mention that the “casilla de agua (little house of water)” or the house where they sold water is what they called acalli. Lockhart (1999 : 383n5) observes that acalli literally means “water house.” Based on this information, I think that the glyph acalli (canoe) drawn in the water (in Plano 9) represents the name of the house where they sold water and doesn’t indicate precisely the existence of a canoe in itself.

28. The walls of the house are drawn in red.

29. The structure is drawn in yellow.

30. It’s important to mention that the form in which the water is drawn with movement (by way of curved lines) using the colors light blue, dark blue, and black lines, adds information about the characteristics of the water. It should be remembered that the water in the canals in other planos are drawn with simple lines, without color, representing the lack of movement. Probably, the water in Plano 9 is a source, and for this reason served for sale when the brackish water rose.

31. The identification codes are based on: Yoneda 2002 [thesis] and Yoneda 2005, used also in D. Carrasco and Sessions (2007, 2010).

32. As already mentioned in previous pages, in these plans the chinampas are separated by the water from the canals. These canals are generally located in the lower or right side, and are drawn with wavy or straight lines, occasionally combined with swirls. Some terms in Nahuatl relative to the parts of the house or architectural characteristics of calli are saved in the work of Marcos Matías Alonso (1984 :95–97), and the names of the longitudinal measurements of calli and tlalli are found in Matías Alonso (1984) and in Lockhart (1999:209, fig. V. 1.).

33. The human footprints are one of the most versatile glyphs that are found in the pictographic documents of the indigenous tradition in central Mexico. Aside from marking the entrance/exit and paths, they indicate routes of migration, routes to note boundaries, military expeditions, and transfers of various meanings. The human footprints indicate, also, longitudinal measurements, and they form part of the anthroponymic and toponymic glyphs.

34. Perhaps this refers to the larger neighborhood of this name: San Pablo Zoquipan (Teopan, Xochimilco).

35. “And as a sign that the buyers took ownership (with a coa they dug up land next to said houses) and they took from it and scattered it over all that they had bought [so that those who sold it don’t say something again]” (paragraph 168 of Documentos nahuas, referring to the file that contains Plano 7).

36. Concerning cihuacalli, Lockhart (1999 :88–89, 201) presents some reflections.

37. We consider that the tlacuilo described in Nahuatl information on these houses is incorrect, because the only houses that could correspond to these two houses in Plano 7 have their doors facing west.

38. In the book, the order of publication of the documents is 1, 2, and 3.

39. This Ana Tepi isn’t the Ana Tepi that appears in documents 1 (1576) and 2 (1582), since in the latter, Ana Tepi is mentioned as the daughter of Juana Francisca. Probably, the names of family members repeat in different generations of the same family.

40. Document 2 is composed of pages 15r, 15v, 16r, and 17r, with the plan being page 16r. We can connect, without equivocation, Plano 18 to this document.

41. These are María Tlaco (the sister of Ana Tepi and daughter of Juana Francisca) (paragraph 430) and Marta and Magdalena (who “were born together”) (paragraph 431).

42. As I already mentioned above, the function of cihuacalli isn’t clear (see Lockhart 1999 :88–99, 201). In the files and planos that I consulted, it seems that, in general, they are calli of a larger size than the rest of the bedrooms.

43. It is still not clear if the two houses toward the top of the plano correspond effectively to these houses that they thought of demolishing because, as I noted above, the orientation of the doors doesn’t correspond to the orientation mentioned in the text.

44. On this and other topics connected to calli, see “Chapter III: The domestic dwelling” by Lockhart (1999 :89).

45. Tejamaní, tejamanil, tajamanil (s.m. Cuba, Mexico, and Puerto Rico): thick panel placed like a tile on the roof or ceiling of a house (El pequeño Larousse ilustrado 2004 2003).

46. The community of Zongolica, Ver. The term patrilocal (however, for the moment, I don’t know if it is patrilineal or not). “Patrilineal: adj. ANTROP. Said of a form of filiation that only has kinship through the paternal line” (El pequeño Larousse ilustrado 2004 2003). “Patrilocal: adj. ANTROP. Said of a form of residency of newlyweds, who must live with the family of the husband” (El pequeño Larousse ilustrado 2004 2003).

47. It should be mentioned that the works referenced in the chapters of the book About the House: Levi-Strauss and Beyond (Carsten and Hugh-Jones 1995 ) offer many possibilities for deepening the study of the concept of calli by means of focusing attention on the house as an object of study through different perspectives. It would be interesting to contrast the results of the chapters of the book About the House with the data contained in the planos and the files material of the present study, in future research.

48. For plans 23a and 23c I retained the labels that were used in the original project (Yoneda et al. 1981 ). I should add that despite the ordering of the individual pages in plan 23c, (found in file 15v), this one is placed before plan 23a (located in file 16r). Also, the file indicates that 23a was first used as a reference during the trial and 23c after the resolution.