8 Materializing Reality in Writing: Nahua Pictography 246
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Abstract
After a short historical overview of the evolution of writing systems in Mesoamerica, this chapter analyzes Nahua pictography with a general description of the glyphs and signs, visual imagery and structure, and reading styles. Then, social text practices concerning “reading” and performing are examined, and discussed whether the European concepts of book and author match Nahua writing practices. After presenting Indigenous ideas about the materiality of books and paper, the intertwinement of orality and literacy in Nahua culture is considered in more detail by debating the issue of flexibility in the textual performances and challenging the projection of theories from the orality–literacy debate on Nahua culture.