“Dirk, Summer, this is my esteemed associate Dr. Miguel Torres, head of the archeology department. Miguel, my friends from NUMA.”
A bearded man with a smiling cherub face stepped forward and shook hands.
“It is a pleasure to meet you. Congratulations on your amazing discovery.” His eyes darted to the codex. He suppressed his curio
sity long enough to introduce the man behind him.
“May I present Juan Díaz of the Cuban Interior Ministry? Juan is here performing research on his own Aztec artifact. Like myself, he is excited to view your discovery.”
Díaz smiled. “Apparently your find is much more interesting than the small figurine I possess.”
“You found an Aztec artifact in Cuba?” Summer asked.
“It likely found its way there through later trade,” Torres said. “While Aztec nautical voyages in the Caribbean are a possibility, we have no recorded evidence of any occurrences.”
The professor turned his attention to the codex. “Eduardo already showed me the ceramic box. A wonderful discovery in itself. But a codex inside as well?”
“Please,” Summer said, “take a look and tell us what you think.”
The archeologist could barely contain his excitement. He slipped on a pair of cotton gloves and approached the codex.
“The paper is classic amatl, constructed from the inner bark of the fig tree, which was then whitewashed. That is consistent with several known Aztec codices. It is crisp, bright, and in excellent condition. Simply amazing, after being submerged for centuries.”
“Fine craftsmanship from the ancients,” Madero said, “as we’ve seen many times before.”
Torres studied the first panel. “It appears similar to the Borturini Codex at the National Anthropology Museum.” He pointed to several symbols below the image of the warriors. “That codex dates from the colonial era.”
“Do you mean the arrival of the Spanish?” Summer asked.
“Yes. In 1519, to be precise. That’s when Cortés landed near Veracruz.”
Torres initiated a running narrative of each panel. A loose tale quickly emerged from the images.
“The Aztecs are mourning some sort of defeat in the early panels,” Torres said. “It was associated with a large number of deaths. It is unclear if the opponent was a regional enemy or the Spanish.”
“Or disease?” Madero asked.
“Quite possibly. Smallpox arrived with the Spanish and ultimately killed millions. I think it references a conventional battle, however. In the second panel, we see a group of warriors dressed in feathers and beaked helmets. These were the cua¯uhtmeh, or Eagle Warriors, an elite group of skilled veterans.”
Torres pointed to a trail of footprints painted across several pages that signified travel. “As a result of the battle, they are taking something of a major journey.”
“Their trip continued on water?” Summer asked, pointing to the next panel, which showed seven canoes at the edge of a body of water.
“Apparently so. The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was built on an island in a lake, so we know they used small canoes.”
“These appear significantly larger,” Madero said.
The Cuban Díaz inched forward with interest. “Numerous warriors are depicted in each boat. It also appears they have loaded provisions aboard. And that may be some sort of sail.” He pointed to what looked like a pole with a loose sheet around it.
“Yes, very curious,” Torres said. “I’ll admit, I’ve never seen an Aztec depiction of a large vessel like that. We may have to consider the possibility they were navigating in the Bay of Campeche.”
“Or beyond?” Díaz asked.
“That might explain why we found the codex in Tabasco,” Madero said. “There must have been some connection with their departing or returning point on the coast.”
“There is much we don’t know,” Torres said.
They all studied the next panel, which showed the seven canoes heading across the water toward the sun. The following image showed a single canoe returning.