Azcatl (MH578v)

Azcatl (MH578v)
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 winged ant in a profile view, facing the viewer's right. Two visible legs extend forward and upward. Its wings are on the left. Its head shows two eyes, apparently open.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Ants and their larvae were (and are) a food source for Nahuas. Ants also figure in origin stories. The name Azcatl could be given to women. A famous ruler's wife in Malinalco had the name Azcatl Xochitzin, and a Toltec woman name Azcaxochitzin was married to a Chichimec leader named Nopaltzin.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
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: 
facing right
profile view
Keywords: 

ants, hormigas, black, negras, winged, con alas

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 578v, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=236&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).

Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

azcatl (Mdz5v)

Azcatl (MH503v)

Azcatl (MH549v)

Azcatl (MH833v)