Ce Tecpatl (CQ)

Ce Tecpatl (CQ)
Compound Glyph
Notation

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This combined notation and compound glyph represents the date One Flint Knife (Ce Tecpatl). It has the Mixtec A-O year symbol with one red dot above it (notation for the number 1, Ce) and a flint (tecpatl) sticking into the intersection of the A and the O. The flint is a pointed oval divided in half at an angle, with the red on top and the lower half white. The A is turquoise blue, the color of many xihuitl year signs. The horizontal O is red.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The Mixtec A-O year glyph suggests a southern Puebla location for the towns mentioned in this manuscript, such as Huitziltepec, Todos Santos (Xochitlan), and Tochtepec (all located between Puebla and Tehuacan).

A study of the Codex Quetzalecatzin made by Sebastián van Doesburg notes that the year Ce Tecpatl (One Flint Knife) is associated in the Codex Quetzalecatzin with the end of the rule of Nahui Xochitzin (Four Flower) and his wife Flint Knife. Ce Tecpatl, in this case represents the year 1520. Another appearance of the year sign for Ce Tecpatl, this time representing 1572, is associated with the rule of Ome Itzcuintli (Two Dog), also known as doña Elena. [See the citation for van Doesburg's study in our Bibliography, and see pp. 132, 135.]

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Quetzalecatzin, Codex (CQ)
Date of Manuscript: 

covers ruling men and women of Tecamachalco through 1593

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

southern Puebla state

Semantic Categories: 
calendrics
year name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Time, Calendar, Frequency
Colors: 
blue (turquoise)
brown
red
white/neutral
Shapes and Perspectives: 
A-shapes (any direction)
circle(s) (small, often concentric)
leaf, marquise, pointed oval
O-shapes (any direction)
twisted or entwined
Parts (compounds or simplex + notation): 
3
Reading Order (Compounds or Simplex + Notation): 
downward
Other Cultural Influences: 
Mixtec
Keywords: 

xiuhpohualli, año, turquesa, xihuitl

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

ce, one, https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/content/ce
tecpa(tl), flint knife, https://aztecglyphs.wired-humanities.org/content/tecpatl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Uno Pedernal, 1-Pedernal

Image Source: 

The Codex Quetzalecatzin, aka Mapa de Ecatepec-Huitziltepec, Codex Ehecatepec-Huitziltepec, or Charles Ratton Codex. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017590521/

Image Source, Rights: 

The Library of Congress, current custodian of this pictorial Mexican manuscript, hosts a digital version online. It is not copyright protected.

Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

tecpatl (Mdz8r)

ce (CQ)