Tlachtli (MH838v)

Tlachtli (MH838v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Tlachtli (perhaps “Ball Court”) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows a bird’s eye view of the ubiquitous capital-I shaped ball court that is found all over Mesoamerica and called tlachtli in Nahuatl. This one is vertical. It has a ring like a half-circle on each side through which a ball would pass during play.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

See other examples of the tlachtli below. Some have quadrants with specific colors, others with stars, soil associations, or spindles. This collection of ball court glyphs might inform the viewer of some of the deeper meaning of the game and its association with the cosmos or with earthly concerns.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

juā tlachtli

Gloss Normalization: 

Juan Tlachtli

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Sports, Games, Leisure
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
bird's eye view
circle (half)
vertical, upright
Keywords: 

canchas, juegos, pelotas, hule, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Cancha de Pelota

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 838v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=751&st=image.

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: 
See Also: 

tlachtli (MH501v)

tlachtli (TR41r)

Citlallach (MH775v)

tlachtli (Mdz36r)

tlachtli (Mdz45r)

tlachtli (Mdz8r)

tlachtli (Mdz16r)

Tlachmalacac (Mdz37r)