tlatelli (Mdz19r)

Given the presence of a base, this mound could be a visual reference to what we might call a pyramid, a constructed mound, which would have had a religious use and significance. The presence of the sand (xalli), shown here as dotted, which makes up the hillock, may substantiate Rémi Siméon's suggestion that Xaltilolco was the original name for the city. See: Tetlacuilolli. Interestingly, the glyph for Tlatelolco in the Codex Telleriano-Rememsis, folio 33 verso, takes the shape of a tepetl), but it is also colored purple. The texturing there, in lieu of dots for sand, are "u" shapes that are reminiscent of the texturing of tlal(li). See: Gordon Whittaker, Deciphering Aztec Hieroglyphs (2021), 25, figure 1.8.b. Tlatelolco was a major center near Mexico-Tenochtitlan, on the north shore of the lake, and famous for its large open-air market. Ruins of large temple-pyramids are still very visible in the center of Tlatelolco today.