TRINCHERAS, SONORA.- Five of Mexico’s most significant ancient manuscripts have traveled north—at least in facsimile form—for a new exhibition at the Cerro de Trincheras Archaeological Zone in Sonora.
Organized by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), Codices of Mexico is now on view at the site’s Visitor Center, where it will remain through November 8, 2026. Admission is free.
The traveling exhibition brings together reproductions of the Codex Mendoza, the Tonalámatl de Aubin, the Boturini Codex, the De la Cruz-Badiano Codex, and the Dresden Codex. Together, they offer visitors a window into the histories, beliefs, knowledge, and everyday lives of Indigenous peoples before and during the early colonial period.
The presentation also invites audiences to discover the work of the ancient tlacuilos—scribes and artists whose role has often been described as “writing by painting.” Through carefully arranged images, symbols, colors, and signs, these specialists recorded genealogies, religious ceremonies, calendars, medicinal knowledge, migrations, tribute systems, and historical events.
The exhibition arrives in Trincheras following a successful presentation at the Regional Museum of Sonora, where it welcomed 11,633 visitors.
Its new location is especially meaningful as the Cerro de Trincheras Archaeological Zone prepares to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its opening to the public. The site began receiving visitors on December 15, 2011.
Rogelio Marcial León Ruiz, head of the archaeological zone, said the exhibition is intended not only to attract more visitors but also to strengthen public understanding of Mexico’s cultural heritage.
Visitors will be able to learn about the contents and history of each codex while also exploring the story of the communities that once inhabited what is now the state of Sonora.
Cerro de Trincheras was built during the Late Pre-Hispanic period, between approximately 1300 and 1450. Its inhabitants transformed the slopes of the hill by constructing more than 900 terraces that served a variety of purposes.
Some supported agricultural and domestic activities, while others provided spaces for ceremonies that helped reinforce social and community ties. The scale of the modifications makes the site one of the most distinctive archaeological landscapes in northwestern Mexico.
According to León Ruiz, the exhibition complements the archaeological zone’s long-term efforts to develop a closer relationship with neighboring communities. These initiatives include workshops inspired by rock art, clay pottery, handicrafts, and projects that incorporate recycled or natural materials.
The site also organizes recreational and educational activities connected to the region’s cultural heritage and maintains a close relationship with local schools and students.
León Ruiz noted that years of community engagement have contributed directly to the preservation of the archaeological zone. The good condition of its architectural remains, he said, would not be possible without the support and participation of local residents.
Among the surviving records connected to the histories of Indigenous peoples, codices remain some of the most valuable. Their pages preserve complex systems of thought and provide essential evidence for understanding ancient customs, cosmologies, political structures, healing practices, and historical memory.
The exhibition’s opening brought together Zenón Tiburcio Robles, director of the INAH Sonora Center; Rafael Murrieta Mata, municipal president of Trincheras; archaeologist Elisa Villalpando Canchola, a specialist in the Trincheras Tradition who was responsible for opening the site to the public; and Martha Olivia Solís, director of the Regional Museum of Sonora.
Curated by Baltazar Brito Guadarrama, director of the Dr. Eusebio Dávalos Hurtado National Library of Anthropology and History, Codices of Mexico will continue traveling through northern Mexico after its presentation at Cerro de Trincheras.
