tapachtli (Mdz12r)

tapachtli (Mdz12r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This element has been carved from the compound sign for the place name, Tamapachco. It appears to feature a piece of coral, white at the base and red at the top. The shape is something like an upright hand with lots of fingers.

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

Syntax:

noun(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Marine, Maritime, Lacustrine

Shells

Cultural Content, Credit:

Xitlali Torres

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

tapach(tli), a sea shell, perhaps a Vogde's scallop, or, perhaps in this case a piece of red coral; https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tapachtli

Additional Scholars' Interpretations:

red coral

Image Source:

Codex Mendoza, folio 12 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 34 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).