NEO Atlas · Digital Cartography by Librarian Joséf Sánchez CoachThe Mexican Bioregion by land and sea: the 32 entities by region, the area of influence over three seas, and the great ancient cities.
Mexico in brief
The Mexican Bioregional Library covers the United Mexican States: about 1,964,375 square kilometres (196,437,500 hectares / 485,400,000 acres) between the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, with about 11,122 kilometres of mainland coastline. It is the thirteenth largest country on Earth and one of the most biodiverse (area and coastline from INEGI).
The Mexican LibraryMexican Bioregion · NEO Encyclopedia
- Area
- 1,964,375 km² · 196.4 million ha · 485.4 million acres
- Coastline
- ≈ 11,122 km on the Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean
- Territory
- 32 federal entities
- Population
- 126,014,024 (census 2020)
- Original peoples
- 68 Indigenous peoples; 23.2 million people self-identify as Indigenous and 7.36 million speak an Indigenous language (2020)
- Languages
- 68 Indigenous languages with 364 variants, and Spanish
- Afro-Mexicans
- About 2.58 million people (2020)
- Biodiversity
- One of the 17 megadiverse countries, with about 10% of the world's known species
- Time
- Tonalpohualli (260 days), Xiuhpohualli (365 days) and the 52-year Xiuhmolpilli
- Economy
- Manufacturing and exports, agriculture (maize, avocado, agave), tourism, mining
- Arts
- Murals, Talavera, Otomí embroidery, mariachi and the Day of the Dead (UNESCO)
- Symbols
- The eagle on a nopal devouring a serpent, maize, cempasúchil, the 20 day-signs
Sources: INEGI (Censo 2020; Marco Geoestadístico), INALI, CONABIO, UNESCO, Britannica. All references
The Great Mexican Map
The 68 pueblos originarios, ancient Mesoamerican cities, World Heritage, deserts, islands, the Tren Maya and cultural routes on one living map of the Mexican Bioregion.
Library of Nature
Mexico holds deserts, cloud forests, reefs and volcanoes in one country. These are some of the species its peoples have named, grown and protected. Traditional knowledge of living communities, shared for culture and study. It is not medical advice.
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- Axolotl Ambystoma mexicanumFound only in the lakes of Xochimilco
- Golden eagle Aquila chrysaetosThe eagle of the national emblem
- Monarch butterfly Danaus plexippusWinters in the forests of Michoacán
- Jaguar Panthera oncaLargest cat of the Americas
- Mexican wolf Canis lupus baileyiBrought back from the edge of extinction
- Vaquita Phocoena sinusThe rarest porpoise, in the Gulf of California
- Gray whale Eschrichtius robustusGives birth in the lagoons of Baja California
- Xoloitzcuintle Canis lupus familiarisThe ancient hairless dog, guide to Mictlan
- Maize Zea maysDomesticated in Mexico about 9,000 years ago
- Agave (maguey) Agave spp.Source of pulque, mezcal and fibre
- Nopal Opuntia ficus-indicaThe cactus of the national emblem
- Cacao Theobroma cacaoChocolate, from Nahuatl xocolatl
- Chili Capsicum annuumGrown for thousands of years
- Vanilla Vanilla planifoliaOrchid first used by the Totonac
- Ahuehuete Taxodium mucronatumThe national tree
- Cempasúchil Tagetes erectaThe flower of the Day of the Dead
_-_flor_de_Día_de_Muertos_-_Closeup_-_1.jpg?width=640)
- Mexican arnica Heterotheca inuloidesTraditionally used on bruises
- Epazote Dysphania ambrosioidesTraditionally used for digestion
- Muicle Justicia spicigeraTraditionally used as a tonic tea
- Nopal Opuntia ficus-indicaValued as a food for the body's balance
- Gordolobo Gnaphalium spp.Traditionally used as a tea for coughs
- Cempasúchil Tagetes erectaTraditionally used as a tea for the stomach
NEO Atlas · Digital Cartography by Librarian Joséf Sánchez CoachThe Mexican Bioregion by land and sea: the 32 entities by region, the area of influence over three seas, and the great ancient cities.
Sixty-eight original peoples
Mexico is home to 68 original peoples, each with its own language and way of naming the world, and to Afro-Mexican communities. Mesoamerican cosmology shares common threads: thirteen heavens and nine levels of Mictlan, the land of the dead; time counted in the 260-day tonalpohualli and the 365-day xiuhpohualli; and a world renewed every 52 years.
- 1NahuaThe largest people, across central Mexico
- 2MayaThe Yucatán Peninsula
- 3Mixtec (Ñuu Savi)Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla
- 4Zapotec (Binnizá)Oaxaca
- 5Otomí (Hñähñu)Hidalgo, State of Mexico, Querétaro
- 6Tseltal and TsotsilHighlands of Chiapas
- 7TotonacVeracruz and Puebla
- 8PurépechaMichoacán
- 9RarámuriThe Sierra Tarahumara of Chihuahua
- 10WixárikaJalisco and Nayarit
The sign of a day in the Tonalpohualli
Choose a date
Pick any date to see its day-sign and number.
Two wheels, one sun
The brilliant celestial logic shared across Mesoamerica: interlocking counts of destinies and seasons.
- 260 daysTonalpohualli
- The sacred round of 20 day-signs and 13 numbers: the count of your Tonalli.
- 365 daysXiuhpohualli
- The solar year of 18 months of 20 days, plus the 5 days of nemontemi.
- 52 yearsXiuhmolpilli
- The binding of the years, renewed with the magnificent New Fire ceremony.
- StoneThe Sun Stone
- The great Mexica monolith with the 20 day-signs carved eternally around the face of the Fifth Sun.
Counting in twenties
A dot is one, a bar is five and a shell is zero. With three signs Mesoamerica wrote every number, and used zero centuries before Europe. Here, from Ce to Cempoalli in Nahuatl.
- 0Zero
- 1Ce
- 2Ome
- 3Yeyi
- 4Nahui
- 5Macuilli
- 6Chicuace
- 7Chicome
- 8Chicueyi
- 9Chicnahui
- 10Matlactli
- 11Matlactli once
- 12Matlactli omome
- 13Matlactli omey
- 14Matlactli onnahui
- 15Caxtolli
- 16Caxtolli once
- 17Caxtolli omome
- 18Caxtolli omey
- 19Caxtolli onnahui
- 20Cempoalli
The twenty day-signs
From Cipactli to Xóchitl, read in four groups of five. Each group belongs to a direction of the world and is ruled by a patron force.
EastRed. Region of light and fertility.
NorthBlack. Region of the dead and ancestors.
WestWhite. Where the sun descends.
SouthYellow. Region of thorns and growth.
No day-sign matches that search.
Ancient Books & Evidence
Written in beautiful pictographic imagery on deerskin, amate paper, and European paper, the codices hold the ancient calendars, gods, migrations, tributes, and genealogies of Mesoamerica.
Codex Borgia (search, opens in a new tab)
The great book of the Tonalpohualli and the gods of the days.
Codex Mendoza (search, opens in a new tab)
The founding of Tenochtitlan, its tributes and daily life.
Florentine Codex (search, opens in a new tab)
The encyclopedia in Nahuatl and Spanish compiled by Sahagún.
Codex Boturini (search, opens in a new tab)
The Tira de la Peregrinación, the Mexica migration from Aztlan.
The catalog
Subjects of the Mexican Library, arranged like a periodic table. 68 pueblos, 68 languages, one Mexico.
- Peoples & Cultures
- Knowledge
- Territory
- Arts & Life
- Sources
Peoples & Cultures, element 1
68 pueblos originarios
Mexico recognizes 68 indigenous peoples with their own language, 11 language families and 364 variants. Mexico is plural from its root.
Peoples & Cultures, element 2
Nahuatl (Mexica)
The largest people of Mexico, heirs of the language of Tenochtitlan, living from the Huasteca and the Sierra Norte de Puebla to Guerrero, Morelos and Mexico City.
Peoples & Cultures, element 3
Maya
The Maya of the Yucatán peninsula, keepers of the milpa, the cenotes and a language spoken across three states.
Peoples & Cultures, element 4
Zapoteco (Binnizá)
The Binnizá and Bene xon, builders of Monte Albán and Mitla, from the Valles Centrales to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Peoples & Cultures, element 5
Mixteco (Ñuu Savi)
The Ñuu Savi, People of the Rain, of the Mixteca of Oaxaca, Puebla and Guerrero, authors of the great genealogical codices.
Peoples & Cultures, element 6
Purépecha
The P’urhépecha of Michoacán, a people never conquered by the Mexica, of the lakes and the meseta.
Peoples & Cultures, element 7
Rarámuri
The Rarámuri, the light-footed people of the Sierra Tarahumara, famous long-distance runners.
Peoples & Cultures, element 8
Huichol (Wixárika)
The Wixárika of the Sierra Huichola, pilgrims to Wirikuta, guardians of the deer, the maize and the peyote.
Knowledge, element 9
Codices
The painted books of ancient Mexico: calendars, gods, migrations, tributes and genealogies.
Knowledge, element 10
Numbers
Mesoamerican Base-20 mathematics with three signs: the dot (1), the bar (5) and the shell (0).
Knowledge, element 11
Tonalpohualli
The count of days and destinies: 20 day-signs × 13 numbers. The sacred count of your Tonalli.
Knowledge, element 12
The Sun Stone
The great Mexica monolith with the 20 day-signs carved eternally around the face of the Fifth Sun.
Territory, element 13
NEO MAP
The interactive map of the Mexican Bioregion, land and sea: 68 pueblos, archaeological zones, reserves, and routes.
Arts & Life, element 14
Gastronomy
The milpa, nixtamal, mole, tamales, chocolate, vanilla, and the regional kitchens of each people.
Arts & Life, element 15
Music & Instruments
Huéhuetl drums, clay flutes, the volador’s flute, jaranas, harps, marimbas, and the mariachi.
Arts & Life, element 16
Living Calendar
The Day of the Dead, the Guelaguetza, the Voladores, carnivals, and New Fire ceremonies.
NEO Glossary
The key terms of this library, defined in plain words.
- Tonalpohualli
- The count of days: 260 days made of 20 day-signs and 13 numbers.
- Xiuhpohualli
- The count of the year: 18 months of 20 days plus 5 days.
- Nemontemi
- The five closing days of the xiuhpohualli.
- Xiuhmolpilli
- The binding of the years: the 52-year cycle.
- Nahual
- The day-sign and animal companion of a person.
- Tonalli
- The heat and destiny given to a person by the day of birth.
- Tlacuilo
- The painter-scribe who wrote the codices.
- Amoxtli
- A codex: a book painted on bark paper or deerskin.
- Altepetl
- A city-state: the people and their land.
- Mictlan
- The land of the dead, reached through nine levels.
- Ometeotl
- The dual creator, lord and lady of duality.
- Calmecac
- The school of priests and nobles.
- Milpa
- The field of maize, beans and squash grown together.
- Temazcal
- A steam bath used for healing and ceremony.
- Pueblo originario
- An Indigenous people with its own language and territory.
References and sources
Official and academic sources behind the figures and facts of this library.
- INEGI · Censo de Población y Vivienda 2020 (opens in a new tab)
- INALI · Catálogo de las Lenguas Indígenas Nacionales (opens in a new tab)
- INPI · Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas (opens in a new tab)
- CONABIO · Biodiversidad Mexicana (opens in a new tab)
- Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) (opens in a new tab)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre · Mexico (opens in a new tab)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica · Mexico (opens in a new tab)
- Sánchez González, José Fernando · UNAM thesis (method of NEO Library) (opens in a new tab)
Index of terms
Questions readers ask
What is the Tonalpohualli?
How many pueblos originarios are there in Mexico?
What is NEO MAP?
What are the Mexican codices?
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Readings of the world
Every NEO library keeps the reading of its own culture and the map of its own bioregion. One world, read by bioregion.
Masthead
The Mexican Library is a flagship library of NEO Library, the new library for the new civilization.
- Librarian
- Joséf Sánchez Coach
Librarian (UNAM), author of the library and of NEO MAP.
- The network
- NEO Library
Open knowledge for everyone, across the globe.
- The method
- The UNAM thesis
Library science from the thesis of Sánchez González, José Fernando.
- Technology
- SESY.AI
Built and hosted with SESY.AI, Semantic Systems & AI.
Keep the library free
Open maps and an open archive are sustained entirely by readers. Every contribution keeps this knowledge free for everyone.
Contributions go to Joséf Sánchez, individual (persona física) registered in Mexico; they are not tax-deductible.
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- © 2026 The Mexican Library, Tulum, Quintana Roo, México
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Authorship. Research, writing and Digital Cartography by Librarian Joséf Sánchez Coach. Made with the help of the artificial intelligences of the world, Claude among them, as research and drafting tools; every text, figure and map was selected, verified and signed by the author. NEO Atlas maps are a Sesy Maps product (SESY.AI).
Set in Bodoni Moda and Jost (SIL Open Font License). Mesoamerican numerals and calendar wheels drawn for NEO Library. Map tiles © Esri and OpenStreetMap contributors, rendered with Leaflet. Editor and librarian: Joséf Sánchez Coach, Colegio de Bibliotecología, UNAM.
