Cuauhtecomatzinco (Mdz40r)

This sign for the place name Cuauhtecomatzinco has three visual elements within the compound: cuauh- from cuahuitl (trees, woods, or wooden), tecomatl) (cup), and tzintli (bottom or buttocks, but serving here as a probable diminutive, little/lower or new, spin-off community. The -co (locative) is not presented visually. The tecomatl is upright, with a stem and a bowl above that. It has a terracotta color, which could indicate either wood or clay. Coming out of the cup is an abbreviated representation of a tree with one leader and two-tone green foliage attached to that. The trunk has the diagonal, parallel, black lines—one thin and one thick—that are characteristic of the cuahuitl in so many glyphs in the Codex Mendoza. The stub of a branch seems to come out on the side of the tree, from the rights side in the viewer's perspective. To the left of the cup is the half-body of a male, positioned as though it is facing toward and up against the cup. It is largely naked and painted a terracotta color, except for the white waistband of the otherwise invisible loincloth. Typically the knees are bent and held up against the torso, drawing attention to the buttocks.