yacatl (Mdz42r)

The phonetic element for yacatl), "yaca," typically appears as an attachment to other glyphic elements in compounds, for example, as an appendage to a ceramic pot or, in the case of this particular one, a mountainside. "Nose" was not literally intended in many place names, but rather it indicated a landscape feature such as a peak, ridge, or a point. In alphabetic textual usage, yacatl often referred to someone or something "in the lead," and in one metaphor or riddle asking what is that "hill" (tepetl) from which there is a flow, the answer was "the nose." This would raise, once again, the association of water (in the form of natural springs) emerging from mountains, which may be the basis for altepetl, the term that referred to a town.