Falconry in America – A pre-Hispanic sport?

Abstract

It has long been believed that falconry was known to pre-Columbian people, especially the Aztecs. This, however, is the result of a misinterpretation of the Hispanic Discovery Chronicles and of an image from a Mixtec codex. A review of the Spanish chronicles will prove that the misunderstanding is attributable to a semantic change taking place during the 16th century: volería, which originally referred to any group of birds, becomes a synonym of cetrería ‘ falconry’. It will also be shown that the human figure holding a bird of prey in the Codex Zouche-Nuttall is not a representation of falconry, and can be explained as a symbolic offering to a new Mixtec ruler. The conclusion is that falconry was introduced in America by the Spanish conquistadores and that the first falconer was enrolled in Columbus’ Second Voyage (1493–1496), while the first falconers to set foot on the American continent were members of Hernán Cortés’ army.