Xallan (CmpRG)

This is a complex glyph naming the town called Xallan (perhaps "Near the Sand"). It is featured in the 1580 Relación Geográfica de Cempoala (originally Cempohuallan, and now Zempoala, Hidalgo). The glyph consists of a double circle outlined in black and filled with black dots, standing for sand (xalli) and a second part on its top rim made up of a row of black-outlined rectangles filled with tan pigment and with red-filled squares above them. At first glance, this makes the glyph look like a shield with the ends of arrows sticking up from behind the shield (as seen in the glyph for Chimalpopoca, below). However, it would make more sense of this second element represents a set of teeth (tlantli), with the “t” disappearing when it is combined with the final “l” of the root word. If so, this element would thus be a phonetic indicator for the locative -tlan, which means “near, by, among,” and the like. Alternately, the teeth could stand phonetically for a similar locative, -tla, indicating “an abundance of something,” in this case sand. Of course, the multiple dots within in the double circle could be semantic indicators of abundance, too. The alphabetic gloss (see below) does not have a final “-n” written on it, although these are often left off, making a definitive conclusion difficult. Either way, the place name would end up referring to a sandy place adjacent to where the town was established.