tecpancalli (Mdz69r)

This iconographic example from the Codex Mendoza is included here to represent a tecpancalli. It is not glossed this way in the manuscript, but we hope it is accurate as one possible interpretation of the Spanish-language glosses that describe the setting as the seat Motecuhzoma's power and the various rooms for courts, war councils, and more. The buildings or rooms are spread over what appear to be two floors, with a patio coming toward the viewer on the upper level. The buildings are shown in a frontal view. They are white, and their entryways are framed with terracotta-colored beams. Inside each entrance we see yellow, woven reed mats (petlatl) with a herringbone weave. The mats cover the floors. The interior of the buildings or room is painted a dark gray. Motecuhzoma appears--seated on an additional petlatl seat--in the upper middle room with the concentric circles running horizontally across the upper facade. These circles have a strong association with royal palaces (tecpan).