Cuateotl (MH904v)

Cuateotl (MH904v)
Compound Glyph

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Cuateotl (perhaps “Head-Divinity”) is attested here as a man’s name. The glyph shows a man’s head (cuaitl) in profile, looking toward the viewer’s right. On this head is a horizontal stone (tetl) with a dark diagonal stripe across its entirety. The two ends of the stone consist of three rounded shapes each. This stone is a phonetic indicator for the -teotl part of the name.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

This is the first example of a hieroglyph for Cuateotl in this database (as of April 2025). But the use of tetl for teo or teotl is known; it is an option for searching in the Advanced Search/Syntax category.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

mīn quateotl

Gloss Normalization: 

Martín Cuateotl

Gloss Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Huexotzinco, Matrícula de (MH)
Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzingo, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
personal name
phonetic dimensions
Syntax: 
noun(s)
teo syllable (from tetl)
Writing Features: 
compound fully logographic
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Anatomy, human body parts
Gender (male)
Names (personal and/or theonym)
Stones, Rocks, Lapidary, Masonry
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
diagonal or angled
horizontal
spiraling, swirling, coiling, curling
striped
Keywords: 

piedras, cabezas, divinidades, deidades, fuerzas divinas, nombres de hombres

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

cua(itl), head, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/cuaitl
teo(tl), a divine or sacred force, divinity, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/teotl

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

Cabeza-Divinidad

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 904v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=881&st=image

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: 
"q" for c
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

Teohua (MH670r)

Teoxoch (MH652v)

Xopanteotl (MH771r)