The Códice Maya de Mexico (CMM): The Oldest Surviving Pre-Colombian Book in the Americas.
Conference Proceeding
Overview
abstract
After 54 years of polemics about the Codex Grolier, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia of Mexico finally decided to undertake major scientific studies on this document to evaluate its authenticity or its forgery. During 2017, several research teams analyzed the codex using both non-invasive and invasive methods to produce the largest scientific corpus of data ever created for any Mesoamerican codex to date. Here, I present the results of the tests undertaken by the Colors of History Project and Laboratory of the University of Colorado-Boulder. The presence of the pigment Maya Blue was confirmed; in addition, no modern inks or materials were found; and three more AMS C14 dates placed the manufacture of the document in the Early Postclassic period. All of the material evidence rejects the idea that this document was a fabrication of the 20th century; instead, the various studies support the authenticity of the Codice Maya de Mexico and place it as the oldest surviving book manufactured in the Americas.
