Atlauhxinqui (TK208r)

This painted compound Nahuatl hieroglyph represents the personal name Atlauhxinqui (perhaps, literally, “Ravine Woodcutter”). This is a local leader in the greater altepetl of Tepetlaoztoc in the Tetzcoco area. The compound has three or four parts. The largest feature is a raving (atlauhtli), which supplies the start to the personal name, Atlauh-. It consists of two horizontal rows of varyingly colored stones (yellow, terracotta, and red) with their curling edges. In the middle of these rows of stones runs a horizontal river with lines of current (showing motion) and three small whirlpools. At the right end of the river a droplet or bead and a turbinate shell splash off to the viewer’s right. Below the ravine, two front teeth with red upper gums appear. These teeth convey the phonetic syllable -tla-, reinforcing the middle syllable of atlauhtli. Above the ravine is a Nahua man in profile, facing left, dressed only in a loincloth, and hunched over at the waist. He is holding the curving handle of an ax that has a triangular blade tied onto the end that is away from where the man holds it. This person appears to be a woodcutter or a carpenter (xinqui). He is not in the act of sculpting or cutting anything in particular, which makes the distinction elusive. Still, the ravine association suggests woodcutting more than sculpting.