In 2014, botanist Arthur Tucker was looking at the Voynich Manuscript when one of the plant illustrations caught his eye. The illustration looked extremely similar to a plant Tucker was familiar with — the xiuhamolli or “soap plant”, a species found in Mexico.
This was a fresh perspective on the origins of the Voynich Manuscript. Previously, it was thought to have been written in Europe. Could the Voynich Manuscript be from a lost Central American culture, written in a lost Central American language?
- Tucker claimed that the art style of the Voynich Manuscript illustrations is similar to that of 16th-century Mexican manuscripts.
- Tucker and his colleague Rexford Talbert believed that they had identified 37 of the 303 plants, as well as 6 of the animals, in the Voynich Manuscript. All of these species come from around North and Central America.
- Because of these similarities, Tucker believed that the text of the Voynich Manuscript could be written in a lost Mexican language, most likely an extinct dialect of Nahuatl, from central Mexico.
While Tucker’s theory is possible, there is still some doubt from experts in the field. Gordon Rugg of Keele University, who believes the Manuscript to be a hoax, has pointed out that the plants could be made up. “If I sat down with a random plant generator software and got it to generate 50 completely fictitious plants, I’m pretty sure I could find 20 real plants that happen to look like 20 of the made-up plants,” he stated to the Guardian.
Regardless, Tucker’s theory remains plausible.
Sources: Guardian, NewScientist