Yaotl (MH514r)

The ayotl is a phonetic complement for the desired reading of yaotl, which derives from the war shield. Perhaps the turtle is there to remind the viewer that the desired reading of the shield is not "chimalli" (the word for a war shield). The shield, however, can serve as an logogram for warfare (yaoyotl), close in sound to yaotl and derived from it. This combination of signs recurs in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco, athough there are some that are simply war shields without the turtle underneath. Ayotl and yaotl are near homophones.

Also worth noting is the pattern on this carapace. James Maffie (personal communication, 3/4/2025) reports: "Lois Martin...argues that the dotted diamond pattern so common on Maya depictions of turtle carapaces is identified by Sahagún as axochiatl ('water flower' or primrose). She argues that the dotted diamond lattice pattern refers to ripe maize. Irmgard Johnson and Diana Ryesky report that motifs consisting of small dotted diamonds are called maizitos on the mantas coloradas woven in Oaxaca. (203) Chantal Huckert identifies a similar pattern on contemporary Tlaxcalan embroidered blouses as 'representations of maize kernels and their dimples on the corn cob.' (203) When the kernels of maize ears begin to dimple, farmers know that the maize is sufficiently dry to be harvested and stored without spoilage. This condition is represented by the dots on the pates of the human-head maize ears depicted on the Templo Rojo mural of Cacaxtla, for example." [See: Lois Martin,“The Axochiatl Pattern: Aztec Science, Legitimacy, and Cross-Dressing,” in Visual Culture of the Ancient Americas: Contemporary Perspectives, Andrew Finegold and Ellen Hoobler (eds). Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2017, pp. 197-208.]