tochtli (Mdz52r)

tochtli (Mdz52r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element has been carved from the compound sign for the place name, Tochpan. It is a full-bodied rabbit in profile, facing to the viewer's right. The body is settled down on the bent legs. The ears are slightly back, and the eye is open. The coat is painted a purple color, with the exception of the underbelly, which is white. The hair has texturing. The tail is curving up slightly. Two teeth protrude.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The rabbit is readily found in the countryside. It was also a year sign and a day sign in the calendar, and it is believed to appear in the moon, bringing associations with pulque.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Mendoza/Mendocino, Codex (Mdz)
Date of Manuscript: 

c. 1541, or by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Semantic Categories: 
calendrics
day name
year name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Beverages
Celestial Phenomena
Teeth Protruding/Noticeable
Time, Calendar, Frequency
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Shapes and Perspectives: 
dotted, granular, textured
facing right
profile view
Keywords: 

conejos, animales, nombres de lugares, topónimos, xiuhpohualli, año, turquesa, xihuitl

Museum & Rare Book Comparisons: 
Museum/Rare Book Notes: 

tochtli. Shown here with possible lunar associations, Museo Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Salón Mexica. Photograph by Stephanie Wood, 14 February 2023.

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

toch(tli), rabbit, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tochtli

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 52 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 114 of 188.

Image Source, Rights: 

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).

See Also: 

Tochpan (Mdz52r)