tlaolli (Mdz2v)
This iconographic example of dried maize kernels {tlaolli) shows three white (or neutral) kernels that are shaped something like teeth. Each one has its germ (or embryo) outlined at the base of the kernel.
Stephanie Wood
Hieroglyph artists were very familiar with the living heart of the kernel. See this online diagram that identifies the parts of the kernel. Alonso de Molina explains that the word tlaolli refers to the dried kernels that have been separated from the cob. Our Online Nahuatl Dictionary explains how kernels were a tribute item, measured in cuartillos and almudes (Spanish measures) and the tanatli (an indigenous basket). They could also be used for counting "sins" (possibly a concept influenced by the friar observing the practice. We also know from codices that maize kernels were used for divination by Cipactonal and Oxomoco. See also this image in the Codex Borbonicus.
Stephanie Wood
maiz
maíz
Stephanie Wood
c. 1541, or by 1553 at the latest
Xitlali Torres and Stephanie Wood
tlaol(li), dried maize kernels, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlaolli
Codex Mendoza, folio 20 verso, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 15 of 188.
The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, hold the original manuscript, the MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1. This image is published here under the UK Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0).
