Chalcamahuitl (MH669v)

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Chalcamahuitl (perhaps “Takes Chances” or “Gambler”) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows the head of what is probably a man looking upward, with his arm reaching up to a group of small bits of something. These are probably jade/green stones or beads made from these stones, given the gloss (chalcamahuitl), which refers to one who plays with such things, taking chances, so possibly a gambler. The term can also refer to someone who mocks others (burlón, in Spanish), according to Orozco y Berra (1880, 464). The head of the man is fairly bald, and he may have tears on his cheeks. This could point to some type of vulnerability or perhaps an ethnicity. The term Chalca refers to people from Chalco.