tzontli (Osu1v)

tzontli (Osu1v)
Simplex Glyph
Notation

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph and notation comes from the Codex Osuna, folio 1 verso (Image 5). It appears to show a standing tree. Perhaps it is meant to be a pine tree, and the number of needles could approximate 400. It is not clear. A tzontli, besides being 400, is also a large hank of hair, almost impossible to count. This simplex glyph standing for a notation, however, does not look like human hair.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

quatrozs~.

Gloss Normalization: 

cuatrocientos

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Osuna, Codex (Osu)
Date of Manuscript: 

1551–1565

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Semantic Categories: 
numbers
Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Hair (human or animal)
Numbers, Math
Plants, Flora
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
frontal view
vertical, upright
Keywords: 

números, cuatrocientos, pelos, árboles, notación

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

tzon(tli), the number 400, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tzontli
centzon(tli), 400, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/centzontli
cen, the combining form for the number one, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cen-0

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

cuatrocientos

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Library of Congress Online Catalog and the World Digital Library, Osuna Codex, or Painting of the Governor, Mayors, and Rulers of Mexico (Pintura del Gobernador, Alcaldes y Regidores de México), https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_07324/. The original is located in the Biblioteca Nacional de España.

Image Source, Rights: 

"The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse." But please cite the Biblioteca Nacional de España and this Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs if you use any of these images here or refer to the content on this page, providing the URL.

Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

tzontli (Mdz48r)

tzontli (TR21r)

centzontli (Mdz16r)

tzontli (Mdz24v)

tzontli (HJleg208exp2)

tzontli (MH504r)

macuiltzontli (Chav1)