Tlacatecatl (Mdz18r)

This simplex glyph for the title Tlacatecatl (also seen elsewhere as Tlacateccatl) shows a man's head in profile, facing to the viewer's right. He has a typical male haircut except for the upright ponytail (tzontli) at the top of his head, bound with what is probably a red leather thong. Face paint or tattooing on his right cheek, back toward the (invisible) ear, consists of a vertical row of three squares, turquoise blue at the top, and below that yellow, and turquoise again at the bottom. The hairstyle and face paint of this important governing figure may suggest features associated with his office and title, or they may point to a certain ethnicity. Some priests wore this hairstyle.