The genre that we call títulos, at least as it relates to Maya communities in highland Guatemala, pertains to documents composed during colonial times for which indigenous scribes, trained by Spanish clergy in how to use the Latin alphabet, quite literally put pen to paper, often prodigiously and to decisive effect, from the second quarter of the sixteenth century on. By recording native perspectives on a multiplicity of topics, but especially those that deal with land and resources, títulos shed light on myriad aspects of Maya culture and the colonial experience. Deftly conceived, doggedly researched, and adroitly argued, Mallory E. Matsumoto's treatise focuses on the contents of five Nija'ib’ K'iche’ títulos, though she draws on other native documents too. Her primary goal is to show how títulos served as an elite means to negotiate power at the community level, drafted so as to maintain certain rights and privileges as...

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