This book is a social and cultural history of the Mixtec Indians of southern Mexico from 1540 to 1750. These people were among the most populous cultural and language groups of Mesoamerica at the time of the Spanish conquest. Based on extraordinary Mixtec-language documents, pictorial writings, and Spanish language sources, the author examines many interrelated topics -- writing, language, sociopolitical organization, local government, social and gender relations, land tenure, trade, rebellion, religion, ethnicity, and historical memory. The book has received the Wheeler-Voegelin Award from the American Society for Ethnohistory for the best book published in the field of ethnohistory in 2001, the Bolton-Johnson Prize (Honorable Mention) from the Conference on Latin American History (American Historical Association) for the best book on the history of Latin America in 2001, and the Cline Prize from the Conference on Latin American History for the best book on the Indians of Latin America in 2001 and 2002. Book jacket.