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INTRODUCTION
Writing in the seventeenth century, the Spanish friar Burgoa (1934) compiled his Geográfica descripción of what is now the modern Mexican state of Oaxaca, in which he recounted not only the proselytizing efforts of himself and his fellow clerics in the region, but also the landscapes and indigenous cultures he encountered, including events said to have had occurred in pre-Hispanic history, as related to him by native informants. Among the latter is an account of a conflict purported to have occurred between the coastal empire of Tututepec (known in the Mixtec--or, more properly, Ñuu Dzahui--language of the region as Yucu Dzaa) and the highland kingdom of Achiutla (Ñuu Ndecu). According to Burgoa, the conflict began when the rulers of Tututepec urged their counterparts in Achiutla to bring their crafts to the community of Putla (Ñuu Caa)--located between the two kingdoms--where they would jointly host a grand market. In part because doing so would have required a journey of at least 57 kilometers through extremely mountainous terrain, Achiutla attempted to decline the "invitation" from Tututepec. Burgoa then describes the ensuing events as follows:
When the people of Achiutla did not arrive, the king of Tututepec first sent ambassadors to threaten them. Then he sent valiant captains accompanied by a great number of people, which made it necessary for the citizens of Achiutla to climb to the impregnable castle with sufficient supplies, and enough easily rolled stones and rocks so that they could defend themselves from assault by flinging the enemy off the mountain. The enemy arrived and besieged the mountain, and looked for a route by which to scale it and come within fighting distance; and the battle was so bloody that afterward they counted the dead of both sides, and more than 22,000 bodies were found. (Burgoa 1934:352-353; translation from Smith 1973:85).
The above figures may very well be exaggerated; it is even possible that the whole account was fabricated. Nevertheless, there is likely still something important to be gleaned from this passage. Namely, given that native informants ostensibly relayed the account to Burgoa, the implication is that such a scenario was at least considered plausible by indigenous persons of Oaxaca in the seventeenth century. This suggests a...