17) Perspective

In this digital collection of Aztec hieroglyphs we are tracking the use of varying perspectives. One can ask to see some of these in the Advanced Search dropdown list for shapes (for want of a better category), which is where we are currently tucking perspectives.

Very common are profile views, particularly when showing people and often with animals. Sometimes a human body will be facing the viewer, but the head or even just the face will be in profile. When human body parts are shown, such as the legs or arms, they also tend to be in profile. Noses [yaca(tl)] are usually in profile. One will find a jaw bone in profile and skulls in profile, too. Teeth [tlan(tli)] are most often in frontal view, but when presented with both upper and lower sets, they tend to be in profile.

Faces deserve careful study. They are most often shown in profile. It is a rare face in a frontal view. Perhaps looking directly into someone's face was considered rude. The xayacatl (face) from folio 13 verso of the Codex Mendoza might be a mask, which is why it looks straight at the viewer. But another mask (Xayaco Mdz46r), which has a hole for an eye, is in profile. The ixtli (eyes or face) on the Mendoza's folio 21v, would be a nearly frontal view if not for the covering (a quemitl). Perhaps because the face is covered it was acceptable to have it at that angle. Faces looking straight at the veiwer are also found on the European-influenced depictions of the sun that has a face surrounded by emanating rays. Many examples of this type of tonalli are found on a document from the Ramo de Tierras (1871:1) in the Archivo General de la Nación. This is true of several examples of tonalli and tonatiuh in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco, too. The Tonatiuh name glyph that appears in the Telleriano-Remensis has a specific portrait in the middle, that of Pedro de Alvarado, with sun rays encircling his frontally presented face.

Deity images (see, for example, glyphs containing nenetl or the ne or nen syllables) regularly defy the profile preference. See for example, glyphs for Nencihuatl and Zaocnen. Renditions of teotl (divinity) can also have simplified anthropomorphic faces in a frontal view, such as Achiteotl, Teoton, and some glyphs for Xochiteotl. Others, however, are still in profile, such as the Teotl on (MH576r) or (MH575v).

All of these glyphs or glyphic elements for teotl from the Matrícula de Huexotzinco represent a notable graphic change from the half-sun of teotl that is so prevalent in the earlier Codex Mendoza (of c. 1541). See, for examples, Teoatzinco, Teochiapan, Teocinyocan, Teonochtitlan, Teopantlan, Teotenanco, or Teotlalpan.

While the addition of a human-like face to the sun might seem like a European introduction, such as can be seen on some representations of Atonal or the personal name Tonal, the sun stone of pre-contact times does have a face on it.

The cave [ozto(tl)], which appears in the Codex Mendoza as the open-mouthed head of an earth monster, a divinity, can be found in profile or with a frontal perspective.

At least two examples of the personal name Cipac involve a frontal view with a face--see the Matrícula de Huexotzinco on 649 verso and 653 recto. This name is short for cipactli, the crocodile that was a double for the divine force or deity, Tonacatecuhtli, creator of the universe and the human race, according to Anastasia Kalyuta [publishing in Mexicolore]. Some other glyphs for Cipac look more reptilian or fish-like and tend to come in a profile view. Finally, Cipac glyphs include stylized spiky shapes, such as MH778r and MMH769v. One, quite uniquely, resembles olin (movement), MH881r.

Buildings and houses [cal(li), and other terms] are also being tracked when shown in a profile versus a frontal view. The side view is most common, but when a building has a specific function, the building will often face the viewer, and the artist has added details that clarify that function. Examples include the building with many wooden beams [huapal(li)] in the glyph for Huapalcalco and the building where salt was being made, in the glyph for Iztacalco. See also Calmecahua MH650v and MH721r.

The word for "home" (-chan-) varies more in its profile and frontal views. See, for example, some frontal views: Coatl Ichan, Aoc Ichan, and Chantli. And some profile views: Chamol, Champa, and Icihuachan.

Bird's eye views are also found to some extent, especially with land and things on the ground. Types of agricultural parcels, such as tlalli, milli, and chinamitl have this bird's eye view, as do other types of land, such as ixtlahuatl (plains). These pieces of land are typically long strips, sometimes segmented, and typically textured (seemingly, as though perhaps plowed and seeded). One will also find a bird's eye view of a an earthen mound (tlalehualli) and a body of water (e.g. the amanalli). Other views of demarcated spaces on the earth, seen from above, include marketplaces [tianquiz(tli)] and ball courts [tlach(tli).]

Very rare, apparently, is the perspective that has the viewer looking at the underside of something. We have one example identified so far. This is the turtle [ayo(tl)]. Yet, even though the underside of the body is shown facing the viewer, the head is in profile, facing to the viewer's right.

A cross-section, combined with an elevation is often found in the representation of a canal or waterway [apan(tli)]. Some apantli are difficult to distinguish from a simple water [a(tl)] glyph. But many show a trapezoidal shape with a framework on the bottom and sides, typically colored red and yellow or just one of these colors.

What is the point of tracing these perspectives? The hope is that art historians will be able to identify and track pre-contact perspectives for a deeper understanding, for instance, about how people viewed the worlds around them and the human gaze interacted with divinities as compared to other people. What was respectful or disrespectful? Also interesting is how such glyphs evolved over time with the influence of European perspectives and, in the case of the sun (tonalli, tonatiuh) or divinities (teotl), the impact of Christianity.

Patterns with regard to perspectives could also help identify newly identified glyphs whose reading is unclear. The clarification of such patterns could also aid in the dating of glyphs and the manuscripts in which they appear.

Draft of September 2024. (SW)