Tlallancalecan (MH782v)

Tlallancalecan (MH782v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This is a black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the place name Tlallancalecan (spelled Tlalancaleca today, referring to a location in the state of Puebla). The place name may translate something like “Where They Have Houses Underground.” The glyph shows a frontal view of a rectangular house (calli) with an open shaded doorway and a red wooden beam frame around the door. The house facade has hash marks that make it look thatched, perhaps. But perhaps this pattern is meant to convey the look of a cultivated field (tlalli), either semantic or phonetic for the first part of the place name (tlallan, which means underground).

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

There is nothing obviously underground about this house, which makes the interpretation a bit precarious, unless the “land” or “ground” part is just conveyed on the surface of the exterior.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

tlallagalegā

Gloss Normalization:

Tlallancalecan

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:

phonetic possibilities

place name

Syntax:

noun(s)

possessive pronoun

Writing Features:

compound fully logographic

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Agriculture, Gardens, Stock Raising

Architecture, Construction, Buildings

Gender (male)

Land Parcels, Use, Issues

Names (places)

Socio-Political Units, Cities, Towns, Neighborhoods

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

black

red

white/neutral

Shapes and Perspectives:

dotted, granular, textured

frontal view

rectangular

Keywords:

tierras, sementeras, casas, edificios subterráneos, nombres de lugares, pueblos, barrios

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

tlalli, a piece of land, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlalli
calli, house/hut, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/calli
-can, locative suffix, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/can-2

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

Donde Tienen Casas Subterráneas

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 782v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=639&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).

Orthography:

"g" for c, q, or x

dropped "n"

Historical Contextualizing Image: