Azcatl (MH503v)

Azcatl (MH503v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Azcatl ("Ant," attested here as a man’s name) shows a profile view of an ant (azcatl) that is looking upward and to the right. Visible are the head with an eye, a two-part body, and five legs (one additional leg must be behind the others, or it was inadvertently omitted). The body also has some dots and short lines.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The name Azcatl could also be held by Nahua women. A somewhat famous Azcatl Xochitzin was the wife of a ruler of Malinalco, according to Chimalpahin. Another famous Toltec woman name Azcaxochitl married a Chichimec chief called Nopaltzin, according to Rémi Siméon.

Notice the detail and color given the ant glyph in the Codex Mendoza, below. One can imagine a baby being given the name of "ant," given the ant's diminutive size. In English, babies are sometimes called "bug." Ants are also a part of the Nahua diet, which may explain why there are a number of ant glyphs in this database. Ants also figure in origin stories.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

thomas
azcatl

Gloss Normalization: 

Tomás Azcatl

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Gender (male)
Humor (potentially)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
dotted, granular, textured
facing right
profile view
segmented
Keywords: 

ants, hormigas, bugs, insects, insectos, bichos

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

azca(tl), ant, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/azcatl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

La Hormiga

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 503v, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=86&st=image

Image Source, Rights: 

This manuscript is hosted by the Library of Congress and the World Digital Library; used here with the Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SAq 3.0).

Orthography: 
"th" for t, d, or gd
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

azcatl (Mdz5v)

Azcatl (MH549v)

Azcatl (MH578v)

Azcatl (MH833v)