Oztoman (Mdz10v)

The curly features around the perimeter of the monster's head recall the rocky outcroppings of the tepetl (hill, mountain) and the curling ends of the tetl (stone, rock), which help sustain the iconography of the cave. The yellow lining around the mouth is found on many glyphs where there is access to human or earthly interiors, as explained further in an essay accessible on the left navigation bar, "Red and Yellow: Interiors." Another compound glyph for the place name Oztoman (on folio 18 recto) shows the earth monster's head from a side view or profile. Entering a cave was like going into the earth, the underworld, and that has religious significance associated with earth monsters. See: James E. Brady and ‎Keith M. Prufer, In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use (2013). We are tracking profiles versus frontal views of various living and inanimate objects. The hand (maitl) provides the phonetic clue for the locative suffix -man, "where there are" (from the verb, mani). Frances Karttunen also recognizes the verb mani, to extend, as coming to play in this glyph (provided phonetically by the hand). Thus, even though the gloss does not end in "n," the locative suffix preferred here is -man.