quechtli (FCbk10f80v)

This iconographic example, featuring a human neck (quechtli), is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making possible comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the Nahuatl text near the image in the Digital Florentine Codex. There is no gloss, per se. This example shows the top of a torso with shoulders, resting on a green grassy field. Up from the torso comes a neck (quechtli), and out of the top of the neck emerge blood vessels or blood (eztli, a DFC keyword) spraying from vessels. The artist may have been aware that carotid arteries run through human necks, and so when a body is decapitated, a lot of blood can spray out. But the drama may surprise some viewers. The blue band of sky and the green ground that can be seen in the contextualizing image are artistic elements that the tlacuilo has learned as a part of the education provided by Catholic friars. This is true, too, of the shading that gives the torso and neck some three-dimensionality. The presence of the partial body resting on grass almost makes it seem like a part of the landscape, such as a volcano spewing lava. But that is probably not the intention.