Tlaxich (MH495v)

Tlaxich (MH495v)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This simplex glyph for the personal name Tlaxich (perhaps "Crossbow Arrow" or "Spear," attested here as a man's name) shows the jagged point of a crossbow arrow (tlaxichtli)]. It is shown in profile, facing downward. The point has three barbs, all on one side.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The crossbow was a weapon introduced by Europeans to the Americas. So, this arrow could also be an introduction, or it could be simply another Indigenous type of arrow (mitl or spear, for example, as a common one). The label of "crossbow arrow" comes from the translation by Alonso de Molina, and the translation has yet to be fully researched.

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, Mexico

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Hunting and Fishing
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Technology (all types), plus Tools
War or Conflict
Weapons, Shields, Armor
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood and Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
diagonal or angled
facing downward
profile view
pointed (see also spiky)
spiky
vertical, upright
Other Cultural Influences: 
Spanish/European
Keywords: 

arrows, pasadores, flechas, pasador, flecha, tlaxichtli, ballestas, proyectiles, nombres de hombres

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

tlaxich(tli), crossbow arrow, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlaxichtli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

posiblemente, Flecha de Ballesta o Passador de Ballesta

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 495v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=70&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: 
See Also: 

Tlaxich (MH649r)

Tlaxich (MH517r)

Tlaxich (MH660r)