Chalcatl (MH502v)

This black-line drawing of the simplex glyph for the personal name or ethnicity, Chalcatl (“Person of Chalco”), is attested here as pertaining to a man. The glyph shows a diamond shape with three triangles around it–left, right, and below it. Each of these shapes also has a large dot in the middle. The triangles on the left and right come to meet the diamond with their points, almost making them look like wings. The triangle on the bottom is like a base for the diamond. Perhaps this collection of shapes is meant to convey a sense of chalchihuitl (a piece of jade or jade tesserae). If so, it is a simplex logogram. The contextualizing image adds another completely different shape to the mix. It might be a building or a box of some kind, perhaps made of wood. A line goes up from the diamond to connect with the possible building or box. The placement of this shape, or the way it is set off, is suggestive of an occupation glyph. But just what occupation it is remains to be clarified.