Abstract

This paper explores how the Codex de la Cruz Badiano illustrates the ability of indigenous Mexicans to appropriate European forms to their own ends, even when seemingly conforming to European traditions and theories. To fully appreciate the Codex readers must reevaluate the concepts of literacy and cultural assimilation in the light of the bicultural nature of sixteenth-century Mexico. The European "contamination" seen by many scholars might actually reflect indigenous ethnocentricity and misinterpretation of European texts, rather than the wholesale acceptance of European culture.