milpa (CQ)

milpa (CQ)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for milpa (an agricultural parcel where corn was usually grown), from the Codex Quetzalecatzin, shows a horizontal rectangle with no particular sign of cultivation or measurement. The original image has a man's head connected to the rectangle; the gloss informs the viewer that his name was Ce Tecpatl, which is a calendrical name, 1-Flint.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Milpa, as found in the gloss, is the form taken when the term milli entered into Spanish. The -pa suffix could mean toward or, if the final 'n" is inadvertently dropped, -pan (in or on) the agricultural parcel. Both Nahuas and Spaniards were possibly using milpa in certain contexts, and yet milli is prevalent in Nahuatl testaments well into the eighteenth-century. As examples from the Codex Mendoza show, earlier glyphs show markings (dots and u's) on the land that indicate cultivation.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

milpa

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: 
place name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Agriculture, Gardens, Stock Raising
Land Parcels, Use, Issues
Landscape Features
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
right angle(s)
rectangular
boxed in
bird's eye view
horizontal
Other Cultural Influences: 
Mixtec
Keywords: 

places, lugares, lands, tierras, agricultura, agriculture, parcels, parcelas, sementeras

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

mil(li), agricultural field, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/milli
milpan, in the maize field, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/milpan

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

la milpa

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Randall Rodríguez

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: 

Ce Tecpatzin (CQ)

milpa (CQ)

Coatl Imilpa (CQ)

Teocholco (CQ)

milli (Mdz2v)

milli (Mdz6r)