Tlapechhuacan (TK204v)

This compound Nahuatl hieroglyph representing the place name Tlapechhuacan (“Where With Wooden Structures”) has four elements. At the bottom is a pair of front teeth (tlantli) with a bit of red gum, providing the phonetic syllable -tla- for the start of the name. Above the teeth is a rectangular wooden construction (tlapechtli) that is made of four horizontal beams and two vertical end pieces. The beams have a brown or purple color fading to white. The end pieces each seem to have a dowel at the top and the bottom that help hold the construction together. Above the wooden object is a grasping hand, which provides the phonetic syllable -hua- (a possessive). The hand actually grasps water (atl), which underscores the fact that the -hua- syllable includes an -a- sound.