The first written records of earthquakes are mentioned in ancient Mesoamerica

Seismologists and anthropologists have identified some of the oldest written records of earthquakes in the Americas in ancient documents.

Written by Meghomita Das, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Canada (meghomita)

Citation: Das, AD, 2021, the first written record of earthquakes in ancient Mesoamerica, Temblor, http://doi.org/10.32858/temblor.206

“In the year 2 Reds (1507 in the Gregorian calendar), the people of Mexico experienced the tragic sinking of a river in southern Mexico, an eclipse of the sun, the termination of the Temple of New Fire where people celebrated the ceremonies of the new life cycle (repeated every 52 years) and an earthquake.”

– Translate a schematic diagram from the Telleriano Remensis Codex

To the historian, this record may seem like a general documentation of the events of the past. However, for seismologists, this precious streak is one of the first written and dated records of an earthquake in the Americas.

Manuscripts, or ancient written manuscripts, such as the Telleriano Remensis quoted above, provide scholars with a window into the daily lives of civilizations. Historians use manuscripts to understand how these civilizations worked in the past and how people viewed the universe. These manuscripts contain vital information about religious and political organizations, public and private traditions, astronomical knowledge, and natural phenomena.

More recently, scholars have begun to use Mesoamerican manuscripts to understand where and when earthquakes occurred in the pre-Hispanic Americas, long before seismic devices became widespread.

Skyline of Mexico City, the former capital of the Aztec Empire. Credit: Jonathan Salvador (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In a recent study published in Seismology Research Letters, seismologist Gerardo Suárez at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and social anthropologist Virginia García Acosta at Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropologia Social provide documentation of 12 earthquakes in Telleriano Remensis, spanning from 1460 to 1542. This discovery extends the seismic record back five centuries more than previously known.

rare photographic record

The manuscripts are written in a complex pictorial language of signs and colors with each diagram serving a specific purpose. Written by trained scholars called tlacuilos (in Nahautl meaning “those who write drawing”), these manuscripts and records were considered evidence of pagan beliefs and were burned in public pyres during the Spanish conquests.

Only a few Mesoamerican manuscripts have survived. Some were translated by Franciscan friars to prevent the extermination of indigenous civilizations, making these manuscripts extremely rare and valuable first-hand documents of Mesoamerican cultures.

Tlalalulin: the movement of the earth

In the Telleriano Remensis manuscript, earthquake or tlalollin (from the Nahautl language) is represented by two symbols: movement, or ollin, and earth, or tlalli.

A pictorial representation of an earthquake in 1460 or the seventh year of Knife (Nautel calendar) with accompanying translation in Teleriano Remenese. The earthquake symbol is represented by a combination of two symbols: ollin (arc-shaped, meaning movement) combined with tlalli (dotted box, layered, meaning earth). Copied from the original by Raimundo Garcia Alvarez. Credit: Suarez and Garcia Acosta (2021)

Each event in the manuscript is accompanied by a glossary or commentary that explains the pictograms and translates them into Latin, Spanish, or Italian. These translations were not made by the original tlacuilos but likely later by Franciscan friars. “Our interpretation of the records comes from the glossaries that the monks may have added later. Therefore, much of it can get lost in translation,” said Suarez, a seismologist and lead author of this study.

In general, the earthquakes reported at Telleriano Remensis are not accompanied by other information such as the location or effects of the shaking. This lack of detail hinders the seismic interpretation of these events, but the records are still valuable. They illuminate major earthquakes with long recurrence intervals. “It is important to collect, categorize and interpret this data as more information may emerge in the future that will allow us to draw more educated conclusions,” Suarez said.

Among the earthquakes observed, two other documents that also contain information about the resulting damage were confirmed. Researchers have linked records at Telleriano Remensis for an earthquake in 1469 with descriptions in another text of landslides and damage to the Yope sites near Guerrero Gap, a recently seismically quiet part of the Mexican subduction zone. The documents refer to a history of large and potentially devastating earthquakes in the area. (A 7.0-magnitude earthquake recently struck near the gap, off Acapulco Beach.)

With supplementary information from other manuscripts such as the Aubin and Mexicanus, researchers have found evidence that another earthquake in 1475 caused severe damage in Mexico City, the former Aztec capital. Historians and seismologists speculate that the event may have occurred on a crustal fault of the volcanic belt across Mexico, similar to the 1912 magnitude 6.9 Acambay earthquake that struck 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Mexico City.

Diagram depicting the events of the year 2 reds (or 1507 Gregorian calendar). Translation in the article. The tlalollin (or earthquake) symbol is depicted at the bottom right of the image. Copied from the original by Raimundo Garcia Alvarez. Credit: Suarez and Garcia Acosta (2021)

Check old records

As more ancient documents referring to earthquakes and other natural phenomena are discovered across different civilizations, these historical data points can be referenced in modern seismic maps. The records can help researchers develop a more comprehensive understanding of earthquakes and how ancient civilizations responded to such disasters.

“If we want to use these documents to improve seismic risk assessment, we must review these studies with older earthquake studies or survey damage to buildings in archaeological remains,” said Andy Combi, a doctoral student in archeology at the university. Grenoble Alps, which was not associated with this study. “It is a very complex study and requires multiple approaches.”

references

Suárez, G., & García Acosta, V. (2021). The first written accounts of pre-Spanish earthquakes in the Americas. Seismic search letters. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220210161

in-depth reading

García Acosta, V., and G. Suárez (1996). Earthquakes in the History of Mexico, Volume 1, Fondo de Cultura Económica / CIESAS / UNAM, Mexico City, Mexico (in Spanish) 770 pp.

sismoshistoricos.org: a website documenting historical earthquakes in Mexico (in Spanish)

Rodríguez-Pascua, MA, Pérez-López, R., Garduño-Monroy, VH, Perucha, MA, & Israelde-Alcántara, I. (2017). Estimation of the central area of ​​the 1912 Acambay earthquake (M 6.9, Mexico) determined from earthquake impacts (EAE) and the ESI07 large seismic scale. International Quartet, 451, 74-86.

Combey, A., Tricoche, A., Audin, L., Gandreau, D., Escóbar, C. B., Abuhadba, J. B., … & Rodríguez-Pascua, M. Á. (2021). Mega Inca Remains and Past Seismic Disasters: A Relational Database to Support Investigations in Archeology and Preservation of Cultural Heritage in the Andes. Journal of Geosciences in South America, 111, 103447.

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