Historians often assume historical documents to be authentic. Forgeries are common, however, and it is worthwhile to ask whether documents were actually composed at the time, at the place, and by the author as claimed. Here I discuss the “leather codex,” a suspicious document that a Canadian collector acquired around 1984 and made available to scholars in 1987 (fig. 1).1 It consists of twelve palm-size leather strips tied together with strings. I group its text and images into four sections. Folios I through VI (line 10) deal with Colonial Maya politics and religion. Folios VI (line 11) through VIII explain the Maya calendar. Folios IX through XI narrate the conversion of the Maya to Christianity. Folio XII contains a list of Maya gods. The back shows a series of animals, humans, and supernatural beings. The leather codex claims to have been written by Friar Joseph de Cartaxena...

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