Relacion de algunas cosas de las que acaecieron al muy ilustre senor don Hernando Cortes, Andres de Tapia's 1539 narrative, is a primary conquest era account by a member of Cortes's own company and an eyewitness participant in the conquest of Mexico. It is the source of the widely repeated figure of 136,000 skulls displayed on the great skull rack of Tenochtitlan. Its authority is that of firsthand participant testimony; its limit, which this atlas notes directly, is that such conquest narratives were written to justify and glorify the conquerors' own actions, and specific figures like the skull count are properly cited as evidence about the conquest literature's claims, not as an independently verified count. Cite it accordingly.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier3
Andres de Tapia's 1539 conquest era narrative, the lower tier reflecting that it is the source of the widely repeated skull rack figure at Tenochtitlan, firsthand participant testimony written to justify and glorify the conquerors' own actions. It is cited as evidence about the conquest literature's own claims, not as an independently verified count. NotesA narrative by a member of Cortes's own company. It is the source of the figure of 136,000 skulls for the great skull rack of Tenochtitlan. Cited here as evidence about the conquest literature, not as a count.
Citation
AuthorAndres de Tapia
Publication Year1539
Source Typeprimary-text
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Mexico directly: "participant in the conquest of Mexico."
This source names Tenochtitlan directly: "displayed on the great skull rack of Tenochtitlan."
Claims Backed By This Source (13 claims)
This source backs 13 claims across the atlas. As facts: 7 well-attested, 1 popular myth - corrected. As cited relationships: 3 holds. Plus 2 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 8 claims: 6 well-attested, 2 holds.
- Studies, 2 claims: 1 popular myth - corrected, 1 general references.
- Years, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.
- Articles, 1 claims: 1 well-attested.
Popular myth - corrected
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The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.