Composición de tierras en el pueblo de indios de San Mateo, Partido de Zitácuaro, 1692-1720.

This article analyzes the process of land composition in the late 17 th  and 18 th  early centuries, and how this form of juridical legitimation and geographical organization had political and territorial impacts on Indian villages ( pueblos de indios ), specifically among the Mazahuas of San Mateo in the  alcaldia mayor  of Zitacuaro in central New Spain. To elucidate this situation we analyzed documentary sources, identified important elements of the landscape, followed the paths of the inspections ( vista de ojos ) effectuated by officials called ‘composition judges’, and retraced their cartographic georeferencing. The study reveals how their actions established historical guidelines for subsequent territorialization processes, discusses the Indians’ ability to participate in and utilize the juridical system of New Spain, and examines the vitality of the documents they generated, which still exist in the archives of extant agrarian communities.