Acapan (Mdz20r)

This compound glyph for the place name Acapan has three prominent elements. One is the central shape of the calendrical reed-arrow (acatl), decorated with feathers, standing in the small water channel (apantli), which contains turquoise blue water and is outlined in red. This one element fully covers the name Acapan, if the viewer is willing to recognize the -apan that is built into the calendrical glyph for acatl. But the painter has provided additional elements to ensure the proper reading. There is a phonetic complement of acatl in the form of a long, yellow, bamboo-like reed running horizontally at the bottom of the grouping. And, standing upright along the right edge of the grouping, there is a banner (panitl) with a white stick and a white, narrow, rectangular flag, which serves as a phonetic complement for the locative suffix -pan or, if the -apan is ignored, provides the logograph "pan" (flag, banner) that finally provides the suffix.