Ancient Codices & Gold Masters
The Mixtec (Ñuu Savi or 'People of the Rain') are an indigenous Mesoamerican people inhabiting the mountainous region of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. With over 800,000 people, they represent one of Mexico's largest indigenous groups. The Mixtec developed one of Mesoamerica's most sophisticated civilizations, creating magnificent gold jewelry, detailed pictographic codices recording histories and genealogies, and terraced agricultural systems adapting to steep mountain terrain.
Pictographic Codices - Written History
Mixtec goldsmiths created some of the most exquisite gold jewelry in pre-Columbian Americas! Using lost-wax casting and filigree techniques, they crafted intricate pieces featuring gods, animals, and geometric designs. The famous treasures of Tomb 7 at Monte Albán—hundreds of gold, jade, turquoise, and crystal objects—represent the finest Mesoamerican metalwork ever discovered!
Eight Surviving Codices: Eight Mixtec codices survive, painted on deerskin using mineral and organic pigments. These folding screen books record dynastic histories, genealogies, conquests, and ritual events spanning centuries. The pictographic system uses images representing people, places, dates, and events readable by trained specialists.
This page celebrates the Mixtec—whose codices preserve centuries of history, whose goldsmiths created masterworks of unmatched beauty, and whose terraced fields transformed steep mountains into productive farmland.
Image Gallery
Explore visual documentation of culture, traditions, and daily life through these carefully curated images from Wikimedia Commons.
Mixtec Codex Zouche-Nuttall, painted on deerskin, recording genealogies and histories using sophisticated pictographic writing
Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Exquisite Mixtec gold jewelry from Monte Albán's Tomb 7, demonstrating extraordinary metalworking skill
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Traditional Mixtec terraced agriculture adapting to steep mountain slopes, a system used for centuries
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Mixtec polychrome pottery featuring geometric and naturalistic designs in the Mixteca-Puebla style
Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Mixtec village in the rugged Oaxaca mountains, traditional homeland of the Ñuu Savi people
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Mixtec textiles woven using traditional backstrap looms with intricate geometric patterns
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Gallery
Explore visual documentation of culture, traditions, and daily life through these carefully curated images from Wikimedia Commons.
Mixtec Codex Zouche-Nuttall, painted on deerskin, recording genealogies and histories using sophisticated pictographic writing
Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Exquisite Mixtec gold jewelry from Monte Albán's Tomb 7, demonstrating extraordinary metalworking skill
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Traditional Mixtec terraced agriculture adapting to steep mountain slopes, a system used for centuries
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Mixtec polychrome pottery featuring geometric and naturalistic designs in the Mixteca-Puebla style
Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Mixtec village in the rugged Oaxaca mountains, traditional homeland of the Ñuu Savi people
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Mixtec textiles woven using traditional backstrap looms with intricate geometric patterns
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Gallery
Explore visual documentation of culture, traditions, and daily life through these carefully curated images from Wikimedia Commons.
Mixtec Codex Zouche-Nuttall, painted on deerskin, recording genealogies and histories using sophisticated pictographic writing
Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Exquisite Mixtec gold jewelry from Monte Albán's Tomb 7, demonstrating extraordinary metalworking skill
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Traditional Mixtec terraced agriculture adapting to steep mountain slopes, a system used for centuries
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Mixtec polychrome pottery featuring geometric and naturalistic designs in the Mixteca-Puebla style
Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Mixtec village in the rugged Oaxaca mountains, traditional homeland of the Ñuu Savi people
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Mixtec textiles woven using traditional backstrap looms with intricate geometric patterns
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Gallery
Explore visual documentation of culture, traditions, and daily life through these carefully curated images from Wikimedia Commons.
Mixtec Codex Zouche-Nuttall, painted on deerskin, recording genealogies and histories using sophisticated pictographic writing
Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Exquisite Mixtec gold jewelry from Monte Albán's Tomb 7, demonstrating extraordinary metalworking skill
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Traditional Mixtec terraced agriculture adapting to steep mountain slopes, a system used for centuries
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Mixtec polychrome pottery featuring geometric and naturalistic designs in the Mixteca-Puebla style
Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Mixtec village in the rugged Oaxaca mountains, traditional homeland of the Ñuu Savi people
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Mixtec textiles woven using traditional backstrap looms with intricate geometric patterns
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Image Gallery
Explore visual documentation of culture, traditions, and daily life through these carefully curated images from Wikimedia Commons.
Mixtec Codex Zouche-Nuttall, painted on deerskin, recording genealogies and histories using sophisticated pictographic writing
Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Exquisite Mixtec gold jewelry from Monte Albán's Tomb 7, demonstrating extraordinary metalworking skill
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Traditional Mixtec terraced agriculture adapting to steep mountain slopes, a system used for centuries
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Mixtec polychrome pottery featuring geometric and naturalistic designs in the Mixteca-Puebla style
Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Mixtec village in the rugged Oaxaca mountains, traditional homeland of the Ñuu Savi people
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Mixtec textiles woven using traditional backstrap looms with intricate geometric patterns
Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)