Olchical (MH502r)

Olchical (MH502r)
Simplex Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name Olchical ("A Group of Corn Cobs" attested here, attested as a man’s name) shows two corn or maize cobs or ears with their husks and silk removed. The one on the left is pointing downward, and the one on the right is pointing upward. The kernels have been indicated with quick, wavy lines. The shape of the cobs involves a rounded bottom and a pointed top.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Note how the “ol-” in olchicalli overlaps partially with tlaolli. Tlaolli glyphs emphasize the kernels. The xilotl typically still has the husk and the silk. Maize is the staple of life for Nahuas and always has been. One can search “corn” here as a cultural category to get an idea of the range of vocabulary–alphabetic and visual–relating to maize.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

Juan
olchical

Gloss Normalization: 

Juan Olchical

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Agriculture, Gardens, Stock Raising
Corn, Maize
Food, Eating, Cooking
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Plants, Flora
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
circle, circular or rounded
facing downward
facing upward
frontal view
leaf, marquise, pointed oval
segmented
Keywords: 

maize, maíz, corn, cobs, ears, mazorcas, elotes

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

olchical(li), a bunch of cobs, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/olchicalli
tlaol(li), dried corn kernels, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tlaolli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Grupo de Mazorcas

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 502r, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=83&st=image

Image Source, Rights: 

This manuscript is hosted by the Library of Congress and the World Digital Library; used here with the Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SAq 3.0).

Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

cintli (Mdz49r)

cintli (Mdz34r)

xilotl (Mdz26r)

xilotl (MH487r)

tlaolli (Mdz10v)

tlaolli (Mdz36r)