acatl (CST42)
This painting of the simplex glyph for the term acatl (reeds or canes) shows a frontal view of a vertical group of a minimum of six canes, with a double, horizontal, white tie in the middle. The canes are segmented with jagged lines at the joints, with a look something like bamboo. The companion text explains that these canes were to be used in the building of the silk house (possibly where silk was stored). The companion text explains that these canes came from a place called Tuctlan (which would also be spelled Toctlan, a place of toctli, maize canes or stalks). The town spent 22 pesos to obtain these supplies. See Kevin Terraciano (Codex Sierra, 2021, pp. 126 and 159 for the transcription of the Nahuatl text and the English translation.
Stephanie Wood
Many glyphs involving acatl have to do with the tonalpohualli (260-day divinatory calendar), because acatl was a day name in that calendar and was given to children born on that day. But, here, we find a clear example of a construction use for reeds/canes. Acatl also played a major role in the making of arrows, such that mitl and acatl glyphs can sometimes look a lot alike.
Stephanie Wood
1550–1564
Jeff Haskett-Wood
arquitectura, cañas, construcción, casas, seda
aca(tl), reeds or canes, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/acatl
toc(tli), a cane or stalk of the maize plant, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/toctli
caña, o tallo
Stephanie Wood
Códice Sierra-Texupan, plate 42, page dated 1561. Origin: Santa Catalina Texupan, Mixteca Alta, State of Oaxaca. Kevin Terraciano has published an outstanding study of this manuscript (Codex Sierra, 2021), and in his book he refers to alphabetic and “pictorial” writing, not hieroglyphic writing. We are still counting some of the imagery from this source as hieroglyphic writing, but we are also including examples of “iconography” where the images verge on European style illustrations or scenes showing activities. We have this iconography category so that such images can be fruitfully compared with hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphic writing was evolving as a result of the influence of European illustrations, and even alphabetic writing impacted it.
https://bidilaf.buap.mx/objeto.xql?id=48281&busqueda=Texupan&action=search
The Biblioteca Digital Lafragua of the Biblioteca Histórica José María Lafragua in Puebla, Mexico, publishes this Códice Sierra-Texupan, 1550–1564 (62pp., 30.7 x 21.8 cm.), referring to it as being in the “Public Domain.” This image is published here under a Creative Commons license, asking that you cite the Biblioteca Digital Lafragua and this Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs.
