Topotitla (Verg22r)

Topotitla (Verg22r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This compound Nahuatl hieroglyph of the place name Topotitla is a black-line drawing with multiple elements. One is clearly the locative suffix -tla (abundance) or -tlan (near), which is depicted as a set of two front teeth (tlantli), a phonetic indicator. On the lower left is a bird (perhaps a tototl, which seems to serve as a phonetic indicator that the name starts with To-. The flowers just might speak to the mil- (from milli, field) in the reference to the land parcels shown (milcolcolli). The fourth element looks something like a flute, but how it figures into the place name or the land designation is unclear.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss or Text Image: 
Gloss/Text Diplomatic Transcription: 

topotitla

Gloss/Text Normalization: 

Topotitla (or Topotitlan?)

Gloss/Text Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Vergara, Codex (Verg)
Date of Manuscript: 

1539

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

near Tepetlaoztoc, near Tetzcoco

Semantic Categories: 
phonetic dimensions
place name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
syllable: tla or tlan (from tlantli)
Writing Features: 
compound of phonogram(s) & logogram(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Animals: Birds
Names (places)
Plants, Flora
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
4
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
multidirectional
Other Cultural Influences: 
Spanish/European
Keywords: 

flowers, flutes, teeth, dientes, pájaro, pájaros, flor, flores, árboles, fonetismo

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

Topotitla Milcololli, a barrio of Tepetlaoztoc, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/topotitla-milcololli
topo(tli), a type of sardine, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/topotli
milcocol(li), a type of land dimension, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/milcocolli

Image Source: 

Available at Codex Vergara, folio 22r, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84528032/f51.item.zoom, accessed 21 February 2026. The Vergara is associated with Tepetlaoztoc, in the larger region of Tetzcoco, c. 1539–1543.

Image Source, Rights: 

The non-commercial reuse of images from the Bibliothèque nationale de France is free as long as the user is in compliance with the legislation in force and provides the citation: “Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France” or “Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.” We would also appreciate a citation to the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/.

Orthography: 
"l" for ll
intrusive period
Historical Contextualizing Image: