Xalapan (Mdz16v)

This compound glyph for the place name Xalapan has two principal components, some sand (xalli), which is black dots on a white background, and a cross-section or cut-away of a canal (apantli), which provides the locative suffix -apan (at or on the waters of). In this case, the sand fills the canal framework. The framework is green with yellow hash marks and, inside that, another yellow lining. These layers line the bottom and sides of the canal. Usually, the canal is filled with turquoise-blue water, but here, a flow of water runs horizontally across the top of the sand, also at the top of the canal. The water shows lines of current, with shells or droplets (which some might identify as local jade stones) coming off the top.