Matlactli Omei Tecpatl (Mdz2r)

Matlactli Omei Tecpatl (Mdz2r)
Simplex Glyph
Notation

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This combined simplex glyph and notation for the solar year (xihuitl) Thirteen Flint Knife (Matlactli Omei Tecpatl) consists of a boxed in glyph of a flint knife (tecpatl) with five ones to the left, five ones to the right, and three ones above the knife. Separations make these groupings clear. A black-line drawing (just barely visible in the image here) boxes in the date. The entire box and its contents are painted turquoise blue (xihuitl), intentionally using a visual homophone for year (xihuitl). The small circles representing ones do not have dots or smaller concentric circles as are sometimes found in other ones. The knife is upright and has a diagonal line dividing it into two parts, not quite equal halves.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The ones or counters are presented like a mathematical equation, 5 + 3 + 5 = 13. Sometimes the arrangements of ones will vary. But the gaps between the groupings here coincide neatly as visual ligatures that could stand for the "plus" signs in the equation. The result of the addition will be the same, regardless of the reading order in this case, but some research still needs to be done on reading order of notations. The oral and alphabetic language for thirteen only includes one ligature (om), between the ten (matlactli) and the three (eyi), but the visual rendering of thirteen has two ligatures, five plus three plus five. Finally, some flint knives are seen as painted two colors, red on the top and white on the bottom. In those cases, the red might symbolize blood, suggesting these knives were used for making sacrificial offerings.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Date of Manuscript: 

c. 1541, or by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
Keywords: 

numbers, números, fechas, dates, calendarios, calendars, pedernales, xiuhpohualli, año, turquesa, xihuitl

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 
Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Trece Pedernal, 13-Pedernal

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio, 02 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 14 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).