Unknown, Tenochtitlán, 1521 (1550)

While exactly who created this map is unknown, historians speculate it was created by an Indigenous, Nahuatl-speaking individual from Tenochtitlan in 1550. The map depicts Tenochtitlan, now known as Mexico City, and the surrounding area fter the Spanish takeover led by Hernan Cortes in 1521. The labels on the map, illustrated as animals, heads, stars, etc., represent place names in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs before the arrival of Europeans. This, paired with the accuracy of the geography, suggests its creator was intimately familiar with the area and language. The map also depicts the new Spanish-style buildings with their Spanish-given names that were erected over the Aztec buildings that once populated the city . Most importantly, this map provides insight into the daily life of the native inhabitants of Mexico City with illustrations of people engaged in occupations and social activities.