Tecpanecatl (MH591r)

Tecpanecatl (MH591r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Tecpanecatl ("Person Associated with the Tecpan, or Palace") is attested here as a man's name. Alternately, it could be an occupation, title, or ethnicity. The tecpan was a palace of a lord (tecuhtli). The name's ending, -ecatl, suggests that the person had an affiliation with a tecpan or tecpancalli. The Tecpan- start to the name seems to be provided by a wooden structure called a cuauhtecpantli (as graciously suggested by Marc Thouvenot in a personal communication, 30 September 2024). If so, it is serving as a phonetic indicator. The right and left sides seem to be upright wooden beams. A triangular point appears at the center-bottom of the device. Between the beams is a horizontal stone with its typical curling ends and diagonal stripes. The stone provides another phonetic element, this one for the start of the name ("Te-"). Bending out and away from the tops of the two upright beams are perhaps ropes (mecatl), a near homophone for the -ecatl suffix. Thus, this compound is fully phonographic.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Tecpanecatl was a high title for a lord. It was also a name found across central Mexico.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

antonio tecpanecatl

Gloss Normalization: 

Antonio Tecpanecatl

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Semantic Categories: 
Syntax: 
Writing Features: 
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Shapes and Perspectives: 
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
Keywords: 

government, gobierno, palacio real, stones, piedras, títulos, nombres de hombres

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

Tecpanecatl, a name and a title, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tecpanecatl
tecpan, a ruler's palace, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tecpan
tecpancal(li), a palace or a royal home, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tecpancalli
-ecatl (affiliation suffix), typically added to a place ending in -pan, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ecatl-0
cuauhtecpan(tli), a wooden screen, lattice, grate, grille, railing, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cuauhtecpantli
tepozcuauhtecpan(tli), an iron railing, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tepozcuauhtecpantlii

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

(un nombre o una persona asociada con el palacio real)

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 
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).

Historical Contextualizing Image: