Axoqu[en] (MH535r)

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the agricultural tool called the axoquen shows a frontal view of a shovel-like tool with a bent handle (probably wooden). At the end of the handle may be a bird head, given that "axoquen" is also a name for a bird (see our Online Nahuatl Dictionary). Alternatively, the animal head may be from a serpent (coatl), given that digging sticks came to be called coas in Mexican Spanish. This animal head is shown in profile, facing toward the viewer's right.