Que los officios de los indios eran olleros y carpinteros, los quales por hazer los idolos de barro y madera con muchos ayunos y observancias ganavan mucho. Avia tambien cirujanos, o por mejor dezir hechizeros, los quales curavan con yervas y muchas supersticiones, y assi de todos los demas officios. El officio en que mas inclinados estavan es mercaderia, llevando sal, ropa y esclavos a tierra de Ulua y Tavasco, trocandolo todo por cacao y cuentas de piedra que era su moneda, y con esta solian comprar esclavos o otras cuentas con razon que eran finas y buenas, las quales por joyas trayan sobre si en las fiestas los señores. Y tenian otras hechas de ciertas conchas coloradas por moneda y joyas de sus personas. Y lo traian en sus bolsas de red que tenian y en los mercados tratavan de todas quantas cosas avia en essa tierra. Fiavan, prestavan, y pagavan cortesmente y sin usuras. Y sobre todo eran los labradores y los que ponen a coger maiz y las demas semillas, lo qual guardan en muy lindos sitios y trojes para vender a sus tiempos. Sus mulas y bueyes son la gente. Suelen de costumbre sembrar para cada casado con su muger medida de cccc pies, lo qual llaman hun-uinic, medida con vara de xx pies, xx en ancho, y xx en largo. Que los indios tienen costumbre buena de ayudarse unos a otros en todos sus trabajos. En tiempo de sus sementeras, los que no tienen gente suya para las hazer, juntanse de xx en xx, o mas o menos, y hazen todos juntos por su medida y tasa la labor de todos, y no lo dexan hasta cumplir con todos. Las tierras por aora es de comun, y assi el que primero las ocupa las possee. Siembran en muchas partes, por si una faltare supla la otra. En labrar la tierra, no hazen sino coger la vassura y quemarla para despues sembrarla; y desde medio enero hasta abril labran, y entonces con las lluvias siembran, lo qual hazen, trayendo un taleguillo a cuestas, y con un palo puntiagudo hazen agujero en tierra y ponen alli cinco o seis granos, lo qual con el mesmo palo cubren. En lluviendo, espanto es como nace. Juntanse tambien para la caça de L en L, mas o menos, y la carne del venado assan en parrillas, porque no se les gaste, y venidos al pueblo, hazen sus presentes al señor, y distribuyen como amigos y el mesmo hazen en la pesca. Usavan tambien esta gente de ciertos carateres o letras con las quales escrivian en sus libros sus cosas antiguas, y sus sciencias, y con ellas, y figuras, y algunas señales en las figuras entendian sus cosas, y las davan a entender y enseñavan. Hallamosles grande numero de libros destas sus letras, y porque no tenian cosa en que no uviesse supersticion y falsedades del demonio se les quemamos todos, lo qual a maravilla sentian, y les dava pena.

The Indians' trades were pottery and carpentry. Potters and carpenters earned a great deal by making the idols of clay and wood, which they made with many fasts and rituals. There were also surgeons, or rather sorcerers, who healed with herbs and many superstitions. And so it was with all the other trades. The trade they liked best was commerce. They carried salt, cloth, and slaves to the lands of Ulua and Tavasco and traded it all for cacao and stone beads, which were their money. With these they bought slaves, or finer and better beads, which the lords wore as jewels at feasts. They also had money made of certain red shells, which they wore as jewelry too. They carried their money in net bags. In the markets they traded in everything there was in that land. They sold on credit, lent, and paid back fairly and without usury. Above all, they were farmers, who grew maize and the other seed crops. They store the grain in very good places and granaries, to sell when the time is right. Their mules and oxen are the people themselves. It is their custom to plant, for each married man and his wife, a plot of four hundred feet, which they call hun-uinic. It is measured with a rod of twenty feet, twenty rods wide and twenty long. The Indians have a good custom of helping one another in all their work. At sowing time, those who do not have people of their own to do it join together in groups of twenty, more or less. Working together, they do each one's share of the work, by its measure and amount, and they do not stop until everyone's is done. For now the land is held in common, so whoever first takes up a piece owns it. They plant in many places, so that if one field fails, another will make up for it. To prepare the land, they simply gather the brush and burn it, and then sow. They work the land from the middle of January until April, and then, with the rains, they plant. They carry a small bag on their backs. With a pointed stick they make a hole in the ground, drop in five or six grains, and cover them with the same stick. Once it rains, it is amazing how the maize comes up. They also join together to hunt, in groups of fifty, more or less. They roast the deer meat on grills so that it will not spoil. When they come back to the town, they give their gifts to the lord and share out the rest as friends. They do the same with fishing. These people also used certain characters, or letters, with which they wrote down in their books their ancient history and their learning. With these letters, and with pictures and certain signs in the pictures, they understood their own affairs, explained them to others, and taught them. We found a great number of books in these letters of theirs. Because there was nothing in them that was free of superstition and the devil's lies, we burned them all. They grieved over this deeply, and it caused them great pain.