The Codex Azcatitlán, a significant Aztec manuscript, has gone on display in Mexico City following its return from France, where it has been held for 186 years. The document, which chronicles the migration of the Aztec people, also known as the Mexica, from their ancestral homeland to the site of their capital, Tenochtitlán, began its exhibition at the National Museum of Anthropology on Thursday.
This return is part of a broader cultural exchange agreement facilitated between Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and French President Emmanuel Macron during Macron's visit to Mexico last year. In exchange for the Codex Azcatitlán, Mexico has agreed to lend the Codex Boturini to France for display. The Codex Boturini also details the Aztecs' migration journey through pictograms.
Mexico has actively pursued the repatriation of historical artifacts removed from the country in previous centuries. According to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations, over 2,000 such objects were successfully returned to Mexico in the past year.