Atenco (Chav17)

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the place name Atenco (“At the Edge of the Water," or "At the Shore”) shows a flow of water (atl heading toward the reader's left. The water contains two notable swirls, and it divides at the end into three flows or splashes, each with a droplet or bead at the end. The water is placed in such a sway that it covers (and draws attention to) the chin up to the lips (tentli), which serve as a phonetic indicator for the -ten- in the place name. This is a man's head shown in profile, facing toward the reader's right. The locative suffix (-co) is not shown visually here.