Matlactli Omome Calli (Mdz2r)

Matlactli Omome Calli (Mdz2r)
Simplex Glyph
Notation

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This combined simplex glyph and notation form a solar year (xihuitl) date of Ten House (Matlactli Omome Calli). This includes a glyph for a house or building (calli) with the standard right angles and T-shaped beams. It is shown in profile, facing to the viewer's right, plus twelve small circles, a notation for the number. Five circles (ones or counters) in a horizontal row stretch across the top of the box that contains the full date. Moving to the right and then down the right side are another five circles. They make a right angled turn that consists of two across and three more down. Then there is another space, and a final two (vertical) circles finish off the notation.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

A boxed-in date says this refers to a year. The turquoise (xihuitl) wash over the year (xihuitl) date is a visual reminder that these are solar dates, given the pairing of the homophones. The paint might also be interpreted as a phonetic indicator for the word "year." The mathematical equation of 5 + 5 + 2 = 12 is worth noting, as it replicates the counting on the fingers (two hands in this case) and toes (two toes). It shows a way of thinking about vigesimal numbers and math. Furthermore, the two plus signs in the equation are represented by visual ligatures (spaces or gaps) between the groupings of ones. Interestingly, the oral or alphabetical number twelve has only one ligature (om) between ten (matlactli) and two (ome).

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Mendoza/Mendocino, Codex (Mdz)
Date of Manuscript: 

c. 1541, or by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Semantic Categories: 
calendrics
year name
homophony, rebus
numbers
phonetic dimensions
Syntax: 
conjunction: -on- or -om- (visual)
ligature -om-/-on- (visual)
ten as two fives (notation)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Architecture, Construction, Buildings
Numbers, Math
Time, Calendar, Frequency
Wood, wooden things
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
blue (turquoise)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
boxed in
circle, circular or rounded
circle(s) (small, often concentric)
facing right
profile view
rectangular
right angle(s)
Parts (of compounds or simplex + notation): 
2
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
downward
multidirectional
Keywords: 

números, casa, edificios, xiuhpohualli, año, turquesa, xihuitl

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

matlactli omome, twelve, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/matlactli-omome
matlac(tli), ten, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/matlactli
on, plus, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/node/176283
ome, two, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ome
cal(li), house or building, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/calli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Doce Casa, 12-Casa

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 02 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 14 of 188.

Image Source, Rights: 

The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, hold the original manuscript, the MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1. This image is published here under the UK Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0).