Tlacochcalcatl (MH761r)

Tlacochcalcatl (MH761r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This is a black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name or title Tlacochcalcatl, a title held by nobles with governing or judicial responsibilities, but also an official at the pueblo level. It is attested here as the name or title of a local elite man. It is beautifully drawn, featuring four intersecting projectiles (tlacochtli or tlacochin). They look much like the mitl, arrow, but definitions and visuals vary. Inside the square that is formed by these interlocking tlacochtli is a grid of two smaller, vertical sticks and one horizontal, resulting in an interesting structure.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

These arrows or spears are connected like this in more than one glyph, but sometimes, they are also shown in pairs, crossed, and as individual weapons. Our Online Nahuatl Dictionary relays an example of people using tlacochtli as a support to swim, perhaps something like a raft. The house (calli) and the four spears or arrows (tlacochtli or tlacochin) on the roof provide the phonetic components for the title, while they may also have a semantic value, if the high Tlacochcalcatl had an office in a special building and if his title came from prowess in war. The term tlacochcalli can also refer to a living room.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

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)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Gender (male)

Legal Matters, Documents

Names (personal and/or theonym)

Social Hierarchy, Commoners, Elites

Weapons, Shields, Armor

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black & white drawing (no color)

Shapes and Perspectives:

frontal view

rectangular

tied, bound, or bundled

Keywords:

proyectil, flecha, lanza, jabalina, casa, persona de Tlacochcalco, título, oficio, nombre de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

tlacochcal(li), a living room, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlacochcall
Tlacochcalcatl, a name, an official, or someone from Tlacochcalco (Tlaxcala), https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlacochcalcatl
tlacoch(tli), a projectile, such as an arrow, spear, or javelin, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlacochtli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

(un título u oficio al nivel del pueblo en este caso)

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 761r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=600&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: