25-05-2025, 04:14 PM
Yes, many concepts are European in these codices and it is no surprise to see them after the Columbian exchange. But not everything here is European. Many Mexican codices like Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca discuss Mexican history and religion.
Where it gets interesting is not where Mexican codices show European elements that are in the VM, it's where they show things that appear similar to the VM while that thing is not common in European works. I believe the first example in Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca is a case of that, and possibly some of the script similarities fit too. If a cultural element is not commonly used in Europe, why would it reappear in the new world? It would not seem natural that the Spanish would have introduced it if it was unfamilliar to them too, they probably did not go around to show the Voynich manuscript to locals.
So is it a stylistic coincidence? Were the ideas brought there by the same niche group that was involved in the VM? If so, who? Was this stylistic concept common in Europe after all? Could the cultural impact have gone in the opposite direction? Was a Mexican person was somehow involved in the construction of the VM?
These caves and this particular visual representation seem to have appeared more often. This Mexican map (Mapa de Cuauhtinchan N° 2) has the same cave structure as in Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca (And possibly the same as in the VM) on the top left, while the idea of such a large foldable non-geographic map reminds you of the Voynich Rosetta. Perhaps the Rosetta is also more of a historic or spritual journey rather than a map of a place?
![[Image: Mapa%20completo.jpeg]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/219e27_8e227969ca2a469489e4e577d65716e8~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_1920,h_983,al_c,q_85,enc_avif,quality_auto/Mapa%20completo.jpeg)
Where it gets interesting is not where Mexican codices show European elements that are in the VM, it's where they show things that appear similar to the VM while that thing is not common in European works. I believe the first example in Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca is a case of that, and possibly some of the script similarities fit too. If a cultural element is not commonly used in Europe, why would it reappear in the new world? It would not seem natural that the Spanish would have introduced it if it was unfamilliar to them too, they probably did not go around to show the Voynich manuscript to locals.
So is it a stylistic coincidence? Were the ideas brought there by the same niche group that was involved in the VM? If so, who? Was this stylistic concept common in Europe after all? Could the cultural impact have gone in the opposite direction? Was a Mexican person was somehow involved in the construction of the VM?
These caves and this particular visual representation seem to have appeared more often. This Mexican map (Mapa de Cuauhtinchan N° 2) has the same cave structure as in Historia Tolteca-Chichimeca (And possibly the same as in the VM) on the top left, while the idea of such a large foldable non-geographic map reminds you of the Voynich Rosetta. Perhaps the Rosetta is also more of a historic or spritual journey rather than a map of a place?