Trail of Footprints

Reviews / Votes

"Hidalgo's meticulously researched, clearly written, and generously illustrated study is innovative and informative." (H-Net Reviews, Latin America) "Tracing the legal, social, cultural, and political history of [Oaxacan maps created by Indigenous mapmakers], Hidalgo sheds new light on the purpose, production, and preservation of maps as well as the lives of Indigenous peoples and Spaniards alike involved in their production. The result is a vivid re-orientation of Oaxacan history that speaks to the historical power of collaboration, adaptation, and cartography...In tracing the long lives of these maps, Hidalgo demonstrates, among other important interventions, the potency of Indigenous skills, ideas, and ways of knowing in creating and charting Oaxacan history." (New Books Network: Native American Studies) "Delightful...[A] beautifully illustrated book...Trail of Footprints will be of wide interest to scholars of Latin-American cultures and histories, and to scholars of cartography. Its analysis offers a richly evidenced discussion of a wide range of maps and their production and circulation. The book usefully probes the theoretical discussions around cartography and colonialism, but ultimately lets the rich evidence shine through. Its production is high quality from the striking cover design, the use of full- and half-page colour reproductions of maps, to the layout that ensures close correspondence between images and textual discussion." (Bulletin of Spanish Studies) "[A] carefully considered analysis...What Hidalgo demonstrates is that indigenous mapping did not disappear with the advent of Spanish conquistadores. Rather, indigenous mapping evolved under the influence of Spanish mapping practices and according to the needs of Spanish officials and administrators...[an] important book." (Imago Mundi) "Thoroughly researched and wonderfully illustrated...The wide scope of the author's analysis, coupled with an innovative methodology, makes this book indispensable for students and scholars of art history as well as history and its various subfields, including ethno-, legal, environmental, cartographic, and transatlantic history. The argument of the author, perhaps most ardently articulated in the epilogue, builds on a growing body of scholarship that amplifies the contributions of indigenous artists, intellectuals, and notaries while calling attention to the silences, gaps, and biases of the archive." (Hispanic American Historical Review)