Testerian is a pictorial writing system that was used until the 19th century to teach Christian doctrine to the indigenous peoples of Mexico, who were unfamiliar with alphabetic writing systems. Its invention is attributed to Jacobo de Testera, a Franciscan who arrived in Mexico in 1529.

Testerian
Script type
Pictographic
CreatorJacobo de Testera
Time period
16th to 19th centuries
DirectionBoustrophedon Edit this on Wikidata
LanguagesVarious
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Bibliography

edit
  • Haberly, David (1963). The Hieroglyphic Catechisms of Mexico. Harvard University.
  • Leeming, Ben (2005). Preaching With Pictures: How Hieroglyphic Catechisms Shaped Native Mesoamerican Christianity in Sixteenth-Century Mexico.
  • Normann, Anne (1985). Testerian Codices: Hieroglyphic Catechisms for Native Conversion in New Spain (Latin America, Catholic Church, Indians, missionaries, Mexico). Tulane University.
  • Robertson, Donald (1994). Mexican Manuscript Painting of the Early Colonial Period: The Metropolitan Schools. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 53–55. ISBN 0-585-14632-2.
  • Catecismo pictórico Otomí