Volume 2 — CHAPTER XVII. THE AZTEC PICTURE-WRITING.

Hieroglyphic Records—The Native Books—Authorities—Destruction of the Native Archives by Zumárraga and his Confrères—Picture-Writings used after the Conquest for Confession and Law-Suits—Value of the Records—Documents sent to Spain in the Sixteenth Century—European Collections—Lord Kingsborough's Work—Picture-Writings retained in Mexico—Collections of Ixtlilxochitl, Sigüenza, Gemelli Careri, Boturini, Veytia, Leon y Gama, Pichardo, Aubin, and the National Museum of Mexico—Process of Hieroglyphic Development—Representative, Symbolic, and Phonetic Picture-Writing—Origin of Modern Alphabets—The Aztec System—Specimen from the Codex Mendoza—Specimen from Gemelli Careri—Specimen from the Boturini Collection—Probable future Success of Interpreters—The Nepohualtzitzin523