ciyacatzontli (FCbk10f83r)

ciyacatzontli (FCbk10f83r)
Iconography

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This iconographic example of part of a human body, featuring the armpit hair (ciyacatzontli), is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making possible comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the text near the image in the Digital Florentine Codex. There is no gloss, per se. This example shows a yellowish arm cut off above the hand, with a red bone protruding, and below that, part of a torso with another larger red bone protruding. These parts form an upside-down L shape. At the inside of this L-shape black hair stands out horizontally.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

This painting of an armpit is a challenge to read, given that the torso is rather abbreviated. But the way the bones protrude and are painted red (for blood?), is similar to other examples of torso (below). Hair is sometimes found to be standing our horizontally (also below).

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

ciacatzontli

Gloss Normalization:

ciyacatzontli

Gloss Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Florentine/Florentinus, Codex (FC)

Date of Manuscript:

1577

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Mexico City

Syntax:

noun(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Anatomy, human body parts

Blood (human/animal/plant)

Hair (human or animal)

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

Shapes and Perspectives:

L-shapes

Keywords:

pelos, axilas, hombros, eztli, nacatl, huesos

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

ciyaca(tl), the armpit, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ciyacatl
ciyacatzon(tli), armpit hair, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ciyacatzontli
tzon(tli), hair, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tzontli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

el pelo de la axila

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Available at Digital Florentine Codex/Códice Florentino Digital, edited by Kim N. Richter and Alicia Maria Houtrouw, "Book 10: The People", fol. 83r, Getty Research Institute, 2023. https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/en/book/10/folio/83r/images/0 Accessed 10 September 2025.

Image Source, Rights:

Images of the digitized Florentine Codex are made available under the following Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International). For print-publication quality photos, please contact the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana ([email protected]). The Library of Congress has also published this manuscript, using the images of the World Digital Library copy. “The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse.”

Orthography:

"ia" for iya

Historical Contextualizing Image: