tepetl (Mdz43r)

tepetl (Mdz43r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element for hill or mountain (tepetl) duplicates the compound sign for the place name, Xaltepec. We left the sand in the hill, which still has the bell shape, curling rocky outcroppings on the slopes, and the red and yellow horizontal lines at the base--all clear indicators of the tepetl glyph. The red line wraps around the yellow line at each end, following the curve of the bottom of the bell shape.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The rocky outcroppings on the left and right slopes provide a phonetic clue ("te") that this glyph is meant to be read "tepetl." Of course, mountains also typically have rocks. Regarding the yellow and red horizontal stripes, please see the article on Interiors.

Added Analysis, 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

Syntax: 
locative (visual not silent)
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Dirt, Sand, Soil
Landscape Features
Stones, Rocks, Lapidary, Masonry
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood, Xitlali Torres

Colors: 
red
white/neutral
yellow or golden
Shapes and Perspectives: 
bell-shaped (upright)
dotted, granular, textured
spiraling, swirling, coiling, curling
Keywords: 

mountains, hills, montañas, cerros, altepetl, arenas, sands, stones, piedras, rocks, rocas

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

tepe(tl), hill or mountain, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tepetl
te(tl), rock or stone, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tetl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

el cerro o la montaña

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 43 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 96 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: 

Xaltepec (Mdz43r)

tetl (Mdz48r)