acocilin (FCbk11f68r)

This iconographic example, featuring a crayfish (acocilin), is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the text near the image in the Digital Florentine Codex. There is no gloss, per se. This example shows a semi-bird’s eye view of a crayfish, facing toward the viewer’s right. It is pink in color, and the carapace is segmented so that the body and tail can bend. Tucked inside the tail appears to be a cluster of eggs. The tail has a fan (uropod) at the end, too. Six legs are visible, all with pincers, and the two farthest forward are held upward, with the pincers near the head. The head comes to a point at the rostrum. It has two eyes on top and antennae on both sides of the point. This animal is placed in a watery landscape, where there are lines of current and a visible whirlpool. A landscape placement suggests European artistic influence, but the prevalence of whirlpools seems Mesoamerican.