xalli (Mdz17v)

xalli (Mdz17v)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This compound glyph for sand (xalli) has been carved from the compound glyph for the place name Xaltocan. In the original (below, right), the sand surrounds an animal, perhaps the xaltozan, a type of mouse or rat. The sand comprises black dots surrounding the animal, encircling it. We have removed the animal and filled in the sand, endeavoring to preserve the artist's style for depicting sand within the circular shape.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

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

c. 1541, but by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Semantic Categories: 
place name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Dirt, Sand, Soil
Names (places)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
circle, circular or rounded
dotted, granular, textured
bird's eye view
spotted or mottled
Keywords: 

sands, arena

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

xalli, sand, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xalli

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 17 verso, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 45 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: 

Xaltocan (Mdz17v)