Mazatl (MH485r)

Mazatl (MH485r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black line drawing of the simplex glyph for a deer (mazatl) stands for the personal name of a man named Juan Mazatl. The deer's head is shown in profile, looking toward the viewer's right. Its coat has a little texturing. It has three antlers showing on one side, and four on the other. The deer's mouth is open slightly.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Mazatl is a day sign in the calendar. The person bearing this name was probably born on a mazatl day. Which number from 1 to 13 would have accompanied this calendrical name is uncertain. By the time of this manuscript (1560) the numbers could drop away inadvertently, or perhaps they were being suppressed by clergy who did not approve of the continued involvement with the autonomous-era, 260-day, divinatory calendar and its religious significance.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

Juā maçatl

Gloss Normalization: 

Juan Mazatl

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

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

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
calendrics
day name
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Mouth/Beak Open
Religion (Indigenous)
Time, Calendar, Frequency
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Xitlali Torres and Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
dotted, granular, textured
facing right
profile view
Keywords: 

calendars, calendarios, fechas, dates, días, days

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

mazatl, deer, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/mazatl.

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

El Venado

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 483r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=45&st=image.

Image Source, Rights: 

This manuscript is hosted by the Library of Congress and the World Digital Library; used here with the Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SAq 3.0).

Orthography: 
"ç" for z or tz
Historical Contextualizing Image: