Xalteman (MH544r)

Xalteman (MH544r)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Xalteman (perhaps, “Like Sandstone,” attested here as a man’s name) shows a cluster of grains of sand (xalli) and some stones (tetl). A hand (maitl, the phonetic indicator for the -man ending to this name) holds a black (obsidian?) stone tool, possibly for grinding or smashing the small round stones.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The construction of the word of the gloss might suggest xal ("sand") + tema (the verb, "to fill up"). But the term "tlaxaltema" (see the Online Nahuatl Dictionary) is a verb meaning to place something on the sand. Perhaps that is what we are seeing in this glyph. But it might also be interpreted as someone smashing small stones in the sand. Perhaps what is in the hand is a temalacatl, a stone grinding tool. Finally, there are other glyphs for names Xalte and Xaltetl (see below), and the addition of -man to the end of Xalte, producing Xalteman ("In the Manner of Sandstone"), could be what is indicated here.

As the analysis of the gloss indicates, we are adding an "n" at the end of the name, but it is not clear if this is correct, given the existence of the verb tlaxaltema and the failure of a search to find a name Xaltema in other sources. So, we will remain vigilant if other names like Xaltema appear as research continues.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

juā saltema

Gloss Normalization: 

Juan Xalteman

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla, Mexico

Semantic Categories: 
Syntax: 
Writing Features: 
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

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

piedras, arena, quebrar, moler, xaltema, arenisca

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

A Manera de Arenisca (?)

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 
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).

Orthography: 
Historical Contextualizing Image: