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Michel Oudijk analyzes the complicated process natives had to face with the arrival of the Spaniards to what they called Nueva España, New Spain. A new economical and political system had to be adopted, along with deep changes in the autochthonous way of thinking and understanding. The author focuses on the adaptation of alphabetic writing to the indigenous languages which resulted in the production of some 10 000 documents in several of these languages during the period of the Viceroyalty. He emphasizes that while texts in Nahuatl and Maya have received some attention from scholars, documents in other indigenous languages have been basically ignored. Since Oudijk considers that this kind of texts introduces us to both the author’s and his cultural group’s ways of thinking and understanding, he presents and analyzes an interesting example, the earliest Zapotec document known up to now. It is a land acknowledgement in Zapotec in which the authorities of San Lorenzo Zimatlan recognize the rights of Alonso de Caballero to a set of lands previously owned by his father. Although the document has recently been published with an analysis and translation to English, Oudijk’s treatment introduces new and different considerations.
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