Indigenous Clockmakers, Schedules, and Quantitative Time in the Spanish Colonies (16th Century)

Abstract

During the 16th century, the term “Cemilhuitlapohualtepoztli” meant “clock” to the indigenous peoples of Mexico. They had formed this neologism out of three words from the Nahual language: “cemilhui” (the passing of a day); “tlapoaliztli” (to count); and “tepoztli” (bell or iron). This linguistic evidence, in conjunction with other documents found in Spanish and Latin American archives, show that autochthonous people came into early contact with these mechanisms and promptly assimilated quantified time. Historiography often claims that the Catholic Church imposed this kind of time among indigenous societies, however, this paper demonstrates that indigenous peoples appropriated a more precise and quantified time in the offices of the colonial administration, either by working as clockmakers or by producing “timetables” and calendars. This process allowed, on the one hand, the global synchrony between the Old and the New World, and on the other hand, the coordination of collective temporalities and local calendars.