matlactli once (Osu2v)

matlactli once (Osu2v)
Notation

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This notation for the number eleven (11) consists of two groups of five small circles in a horizontal row, plus one more circle above the far right end of the row. Each group of five is connected with a horizontal line along underneath the circles. The circles are painted a light brown or tan color. The equation is 5 + 5 + 1 = 11. It comes from the Codex Osuna, folio 2 recto (Image 6).

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

This number is part of a larger number that totals 171 and refers to that number of bundles of lime (a tribute item extracted for use in construction). These numbers could be taught as part of a mathematical lesson. The full number has eight flags (tecpantli), each worth 20, for a subtotal of 160. Adding the 11 brings the grand total to 171. It is just a coincidence that the “once” in this number sounds like the Spanish word for eleven. The Nahuatl word is actually “plus one,” part of a construction that is five plus five plus one.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Source Manuscript:

Osuna, Codex (Osu)

Date of Manuscript:

1551–1565

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Mexico City

Semantic Categories:

numbers

Syntax:

line connecting elements

noun(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Numbers, Math

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

tan

Shapes and Perspectives:

circle(s) (small, often concentric)

horizontal

frontal view

Keywords:

números, círculos, once, diez, uno, tributos, Nueva España

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

matlac(tli), ten, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/matlactli
ce, one, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ce
-on-, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/node/211159

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

once

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: