matlatl (Mdz12r)

matlatl (Mdz12r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element for a net (matlatl)} has been carved from the compound sign for the place name, Tolocan. The net has an oval frame attached to it, and a long stick or handle, also connected to the frame. The assumption of wood comes from the terracotta color, often given to wooden things.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The net appears to be one for catching fish in a river, lagoon, or lake. This type of net is found in glyphs referring to Tolocan (modern Toluca), because the valley there had a large lagoon that used to be fished. The indigenous people there were also known as the Matlatzinca.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

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

c. 1541, but by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Technology (all types), plus Tools
Wood, wooden things
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
orange/terracotta
Shapes and Perspectives: 
oval (see also leaf shaped)
Other Cultural Influences: 
Matlatzinca
Keywords: 

nets, redes

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

matla(tl), net, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/matlatl

Additional Scholars' Interpretations: 

net

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 12 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 34 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).

See Also: 

Tolocan (Mdz10v)

Tolocan (Mdz12r)

Matlatlan (Mdz10v)

matlatl (Mdz59r)