Tecpanecatl (MH785r)

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name or title, Tecpanecatl, is attested here as pertaining to a man. It looks something like a capital letter M with a horizontal line running through the M near the top. A V-shaped piece between the two upright posts and emerging above the horizontal piece. As graciously suggested by Marc Thouvenot (personal communication, 30 September 2024) this may well be a cuauhtecpantli, a wooden construction that may have had a protective function, like a railing. The tepozcuauhtecpantli, which was a colonial innovation involving metal, was an iron grille or balcony railing, often found in churches. The cuauhtecpantli serves as a phonetic indicator for the Tecpan- start to the name or title.