tenamitl (Mdz37r)

tenamitl (Mdz37r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element for wall or fortification (tenamitl) has been carved from the compound sign for the place name, Atenanco. This fortification has three step-shaped crenelation pieces with a turquoise exterior and red interior. Below these is a horizontal rectangle with four sets of concentric circles inside it. The rectangle has a turquoise band around it, with a red interior. The circles are also turquoise with red interiors.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

See the analysis of the glyph for Atenanco for further information about the details of this type of fortification. See below, right, for other versions of the tenamitl. Some are simplified, only showing a turquoise color.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Mendoza/Mendocino, Codex (Mdz)
Date of Manuscript: 

c. 1541, but by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Syntax: 
noun(s)
Writing Features: 
simplex or element as logogram
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Colors: 
blue (turquoise)
red
Shapes and Perspectives: 
circle(s) (small, often concentric)
crenelated
horizontal
rectangular
scalloped edges
stepped
Keywords: 

parapets, ramparts, walls, crenelation, parapetos, paredes, murallas, crenelación, muros, cercas, , merlons, almenas

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

tenan(tli), wall, fortification, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tenantli
tenam(itl), wall, fortification, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tenamitl

Additional Scholars' Interpretations: 

rampart

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 37 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 84 of 188.

Image Source, Rights: 

The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, hold the original manuscript, the MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1. This image is published here under the UK Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0).

See Also: 

Atenanco (Mdz37r)

tenamitl (Mdz2r)

tenamitl (Mdz7v)

tenamitl (Mdz10r)

tenamitl (Mdz10v)

tenamitl (Mdz13r)

tenamitl (Mdz34r)