MT

NAHUATL SCRIPT
Marc Thouvenot

Nahuatl script 1 is that which was used by Nahuatl-speakers profound ignorance. This is not the place to discuss the
at the time of the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica, in limitations of the system but rather to explain some of the
which a key èvent was the fall of Mexico-Tenochtitlan in potential points of interest that we are currently capable of
1521. The geographic center of use of this writing system detecting.
was the Mexican Valley, and its best known users were the The reason why we know so little about Nahuatl script is
Aztecs. The script resembles Mixtec, and there are major due to a variety of factors . The m<;>st important, in the view
similarities between the two, to the extent that , according of the author, is due to our own conception of script perse
to several authorities, certain documents (the Borgia and the eradication of traditional native scripts.
group in particular) contain writings in both scripts. Our subconscious view of writing is shaped by our own
So how is it that the Nahuatl script has not been experience thereof, as well as by what has been written
deciphered, even though it has been known in the West about it over the centuries and also by the work of
since the first day Europeans (the Spanish) set foot on the linguistics experts. These influences converge in the same
Mexican shore? This seems ail the more surprising when direction and tend to make us daim that script is a univocal
we consider that we have contemporary reports about it; system for fixing units of language. Writing is thus a mere
that, since the nineteenth century, a number of studies reflection of the spoken language.
have been made of it; that, for the last thirty years (thanks This ideology has a very simple consequence: namely,
to the efforts of Joaquin Galarza), new life has been that many experts in Central American culture believe that,
breathed into research into it; and lastly that, at the turn of the Aztec images, only those which have by convention
of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, some of the been referred to as glyphs (and especially where they refer
codices-"codex" being the name usually given to books to names of people or places) are a form of writing. Experts
in traditional scripts-have been published along with the in scripts go further and consider that the symbols that
research . appear in the codices or on other media are not a form of
The answer is simple. There currently exists no writing at ail but are merely "precursors."
dictionary worthy of the name that could supply a key to This disregards the fact that by the early sixteenth
the elements of which this writing consists, and we do not century people were able to write not only in their
have any means of swiftly looking up the sound value ( or traditional script but also in the Latin characters taught to
values) represented by a particular sign, nor of finding how them by the Spanish clerics. Clearly, they considered the two
many times it occurs, and even less of identifying the writing systems as being equivalents of each other. Here, for
contexts in which these signs are found. We do not know example, is what a Nahuatl lndian called Chimalpahin says
the syntax of the images or even the direction in which the about the books of his ancestors, the codices: "The story of
glyphs should be read. the customs of the people and the genealogical history of
Our ability to read the signs is therefore very limited, their royal family is written in black and in color. They are
and consequently, the general conclusions that we can laid upon paper as signs. They will never be erased nor
draw about this script are tentative and are tempered by a forgotten , but will always be preserved." When an author

179
 G 5 A D REINVENTIONS

pe · of a book he is writing in Latin characters, he shows

the ame care to preserve and transmit knowledge: " ... and
o pre\·ent it disappearing or being forgotten , once again , I
chec ·. 1 re new, and arrange it in a book."2
Thi s shows that the point at which the two systems of
niting co nverge need not be sought in the relationship
\dth a language-in this case Nahuatl-but in a means to an
end. that of preserving and transmitting information.
The seco nd reason why we know so little about Nahuatl
is the eradication of the traditional script. This took three
fo rms- des truction , silence, and re placement.
Destruction by fire was systematic. The Spanish priests
believed that ail these documents were the work of Satan,
bu t th eir actions did not stop there . After destroying most
of th e written words , they fostered the creation of several
new codices in order to use any of the content th at might
he lp them in their missionary work. They then proceeded
to create conditions whereby the native script could not be
revived from the ashes. They did so first by ensuring that
silence prevailed in regard to the script, a systematic
be havior observed by the Franciscan Bernardino de
Sahag(m (Sahagûn worked with the Indians to create th e of
Florentine Codex, considered to be a sort of encyclopedia of
Aztec civilization) . They also destroyed knowledge of the
sc ript by their teaching activities-another very important
missionary task-in which they substituted their own Latin
script, a script which , in the context of their absolute
political domination , could not have failed to establish itself.

Fig. 2. Codex Telleriano-Remensis. No. 385, fol. 3 lr, Bibliothèque

Nationale de France, Paris.

It would appear, however, that civilian society had a

slightly different attitude to that of the clerics. In fact,
documents written in the traditional native script were
accepted as legally valid by the courts and are accepted as
such to this day.
The result of the ruthless suppression of Aztec script
can be seen from the statistics. At the time of writing, about
three hundred pictographie documents are scattered
throughout the world , preserved in a large number of
libraries. Only a handful of them (five or six) escaped the
autos-da-fé; ail the rest were produced after the Spanish
conquest. The number has increased slightly over the
years with the discovery of new codices, mainly among
native communities who have preserved them, conscious
of their historie and legal value.
In addition , there were sculptures (Fig. 1), frescoes ,
some ceramics, artifacts made of feathers , etc. Even though
the Aztecs preferred to write on "paper," whether the
Fig. 1. Sundial. Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico. native amati paper, European paper, cotton fabric , or

180
ORIGINS AND REINVENTIONS

THE IMAGES THAT MAKE UP THE SCRIPT

The following examples show that the images that appear

in the documents are of three types. First there are human
and divine figures-shown either in full or in part. Then
there are glyphs, and finally there are graphie or plastic
links between the two. The figures and the elements of
whieh the glyphs consist are ail conventional figurative
images.

The glyphs
The glyphs 5 are graphie units that are basieally identifiable
thanks to the space that surrounds them. They can be
distinguished from the figures by the fact that their
constituent elements do not necessarily create a realistic
image (unlike the anatomieally correct figure elements). On
the basis of their graphie characteristics, the glyphs fall
into five main categories:
1) The anthroponyms (names of people) have two
characteristics. First, they are always linked to the upper
part of a human or divine figure (headdress, cloak
fastening, or arm), and second, they are often smaller than
the other glyphs with whieh they may be connected. This
first class is subdivided into individual, collective,
locational, and functional anthroponyms.
2) The toponyms (place-names) are larger than the
anthroponyms and are often represented separately-that
is, without a graphie link to the context. They may be
attached, however, by a link or by contact with the lower
part of a person Oeg, foot, or seat).
3) The enlarged glyphs are of ample dimensions. This is
Fig. 5. Matricula de Tributos . Codices 35-52, fol. 9r, Tepequacuilco. because they are supposed to represent elements of the
Biblioteca Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, Mexico.
landscape. Examples are the glyphs representing a lagoon

places, and for recording the condition and distri-

bution of land, what it consisted of, and to whom it
belonged. Others worked on the books of laws, rites,
and ceremonies that were in use at the time when
-z
they were unbelievers; and the priests of the temples
concerned themselves with their idols and their
idolatrous doctrines, the feasts of their taise gods,
and the calendars. And finally, the task of the
philosophers and sages in their midst was to draw
and paint ail their knowledge, old and new.4

Both the wide range of subject-matter that Ixtilxochitl

recorded and the few documents that have been preserved
indieate that the subjects that were written about under toponyms anthroponym
Spanish pressure were much the same as those about
whieh the lndians traditionally wrote. Diagram 1. Plate 1 (010) of the Codex Xo/ot/

182
 NAHUATL SCRIPT

.: ,,1' ,/..,, .. , ✓ -

.: ~ .,(./
-~~-,, ; / / _J

Fig. 4. Plan of an estate. No. 34, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris.

Fig. 3. Matricula de Huexotzinco. No. 387, fol. 780v, Bibliothèque

Nationale de France, Paris.

prepared animal skins , writing appeared on every medium are, on the other hand, ail of a religious nature. As a
that proved receptive to legible inscription. consequence, neither their distribution after the Spanish
Conquest (closely linked to the colonization of the Nahuas)
nor the small amount (five or six documents, five of which
THE SUBJECT•MATTER are from the Borgia group) of pre-Conquest data enables us
to discover the most frequent use to which the native script
The codices that are still in existence3 can be classified into was put. It is therefore important to learn from the writings
various types of subject-matter that throws light on the of educated Aztecs . One such, Alva lxtlilxochitl, wrote:
preoccupations of the Nahuas, in direct or indirect
response to Spanish prohibitions or pressures at the time They had specialist writers for each type of subject.
when they were written. Codices of a legal or economical Sorne were chroniclers, classifying things that
nature (Figs. 3, 4, and 5) represent 40 percent of the happened every year, stating the day, month, and
documents. Historical and political essays (see Figs. 2 and time. Others recorded the genealogy and lineage of
8) account for 34 percent of them, and religious writings the kings, lords, and nobles, entering the births and
(Fig. 6) for 12 percent. There are also two scientific docu- crossing out the deaths . Yet others were responsible
ments, the Codex Badiano (Mexico) and the Florentine for painting demarcation lines around territories and
Codex (Fig. 7). Those that are believed to be precortesian signposts in towns, provinces, villages , and other

181
ORIGINS ANO REINVENTIONS

the same proper name, Cuacuauhpitzahuac, can be written

either as a separate glyph with a graphie link or by a glyph
associated by contact with a figure shows that , at the very
J.. least, the figures might have the same value as the glyphs
J and that these elements merely need to be "activated" in
order to reveal the sound they represent.
-7· LJ
\ L
1 .....

-t\}·~ j
~~------J
-·

Oiagram 2. X.050.G.38: Diagram 3. X.060 .F.34:

Cuacuauhpitzahuac Cuacuauhpitzahuac

l The Codices Matritenses also contain examples of the close

_J relationship in Nahuatl of the elements that make up the
\ figures . The books contain several lists of rulers, including
two lineages , that of the Chichimeca and that of the
Acolhuachichimeca. The two lists are graphically distin-
guished from each other by the fact that in one list the
Fig. 6. Codex Borbonicus. fol. 34, Bibliothèque de l'Assemblée Nationale, rulers are depieted with a bow and arrow placed in front
Paris.
of them , a combination that is traditionally read as
chichimecatl, whereas in the other, an arm in the anatomi-
cally correct position is holding the bow and arrow:

Human and divin e figures

No one doubts the fact that the glyphs , whose elements
represent sounds , can be read. This is not true for the figures
and graphie links , and scholars have produced two different
trends of thought. The majority believe that the figures are
not to be read but must be interpreted; others consider that
the figures consist of elements similar to those encountered
in the glyphs and that they should therefore be read . This
second theory, a totally new one, is that proposed by Joaquin
Galarza. According to the first group, there would be total
independence from any particular language, whereas for the
second group, there would be a close relationship between Diagram 4. Codices Matritenses , f. 52r: Chichimecatl (title) ,
the figures and the language. Since there is currently f. 53r : Acolhuachichimecatl (title)
insufficient research on the matter, it is difficult to validate
Galarza's theory. On the other hand , it is possible to This apparently minor detail makes sense when one
discount the first theory. realizes that the sound of the element maitl, "hand, arm" is
The Codex Xolotl provides several examples showing known to be acol. So the arm represents the sound acol, its
that the elements of which the figures consist could be position is probably the possessive suffix hua , and the bow-
used in exactly the same way as the glyphs . The fact that and-arrow combination make chichimecatl. The whole word

184
 NAHUATL SCRIPT

or a mountain range that features in almost every plate in Table 1

the Codex Xolotl.
4) Glyphs representing numbers may be temporal glyphs , ELEMENT fP G1 G)f?
glyphs of tribute, glyphs of measurement , or any glyph 1
G)

~ fr
whose main function is numerical.
~
(
5) The varias are those glyphs that do not fall into any of
the previous categories.
NAME popoca tlatoa zozoma C
Proper identification of the class to which a glyph belongs
is important for a correct reading of the script. lt also SOUND popoca nahua zozo C
enables us to understand , in particular, the space-saving
strategies employed by the tlacuiloque or painter-scribes. Table 2. chalchihuitl element = jade
Almost ail the glyphs consist of a number of elements.
An element may be defined as the smallest graphie that
has a characteristic shape shared by two or more
different glyphs or parts of a glyph , whose other parts
have already been identified as elements , or it may be the
color of a graphie if it is not the color conventionally used
for it.
These elements transcribe the sounds of the language
which represents its various units . These units may be
syllables, roots, or words . The agglutination of these units Codex Mendoza, f. 3v. Codex Tel/eriano-Remensis, f. 12v. Codex Mag/iabec
make it possible to read the words or phrases thus written .
Reading depends on a precise analysis o Vt6e glyphs Table 3. mitl element = arrow
because the various elements contain subtle differences
that make it possible to distinguish them. Table 1 shows REF. X.050.G.23 X.040.G.13 X.030.E.15 X.020.O.58
various different elements, ail of which use a "volute."
GLYPH
The elements are very flexible so that they can be adapted
to the various contexts in which they are used . Thus , the
element chalchihuitl, "jade" (Table 2), may take on very
different forms , depending on the way in which it is used .
In most cases, the elements reproduce only one sound, but READING acamapichtli tenancacaltzin chichimecatl mamalhuazco
there are some that represent a variety of sounds , as for
example the element mit!, "arrow" (Tables 3 and 4). This SOUND aca caca/ chichimecatl mamalhuaz
element can be used to transcribe ten different sounds,
which are identifiable from the different ways in which the
element mit! may be portrayed (drawn in part or in whole , Table 4. mitl element = arrow
horizontally, vertically, or at an angle, etc.) and the way in
which it relates to the other elements. REF. X.050.H.29 X.010.1.03 X.050.A.59 X.100.O.28

In more than 75 percent of cases , a sound is represented by GLYPH

n ri
l/7

~
a single element, but some sounds can be represented by
various elements.
Finally, in a relatively few cases, elements are combined
fr ~C>-

in order to annotate a sound that is different from that JI . ~

represented by each of its components separately. An READING temictzin mit! tenanmincatzin tencoyomitzin
example is the glyph read as chichimecatl (Table 3). It
consists of the elements mit!, "arrow," and tlahuitolli, "bow," SOUND mie mit! min ten
neither of which would alone produce chichimecatl. lt is the
combination of both that produces this reading.

183
 Fig. 8. Codex Xolotl. No. 1-10, Plate 2, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris.

lxtlilxochitzin
Orne tochtli
He came to sit on the mat, on the seat [ = to govern]. And
Matlalcihuatzin this lxtlilxochitzin took a wife by the name of
Matlalcihuatzin. And they left two children. The first was
named Nezahualcoyotzin Acolmiztzin, the second, a
woman, had the name of Tozquentzin.

in rnotlahtocatlalli This is just one of a number of possible readings , since the

purpose of the script was to record and convey the content
in petlapan in icpalpan and not the language itself "word for word. " An other
possible reading of the above images could be as follows:
Nezahualcoyotzin ornentin in quincauhtia ipilhuan
Nezahualcoyotzin Acolmiztzin was the first of two
inic ce children of the ruler named lxtlilxochitzin Orne Tochtli
who had married a woman named Matlalcihuatzin. His
Tozquentzin younger sister was called Tozquentzin.

inic orne cihuatl

Diagram 5. (left) Plate 6 of the Codex Xolotl (detail).

186
 NAHUATL SCRIPT

should thus be read as acol-hua-chichimecatl, the title of

this person. v,1,1de cim/J
This is one of many examples . It is not enough to prove la.ma i'tlh»,jdi; fta~pjàX dqtfr lvlfijf/2ht. velmjtht; N-ï.!iMJoa
that ail the elements of a human figure should be read in the a veJKJ: cUJizJe QHe :J?"Zf.«C /ioze
same way as those of a glyph , but it does at least show that ,k ca/J«;r <ll~nd tUb2-, JC/,P/rd~"
1kidf111ac: Inie 1nj,11a m/2,,··
ail the images in the codex should be analyzed in the same y p,û:a Cd/?/'1 a«L: ykme ~ mjtl: fnjf;~n t'U~/2 ~/µ11tf
(Zldt,

way, by seeking first to determine their various constituent alaJ /4.r. tzS âJ,m(l 17eg, yfaa,/4 C6 911/12 tiJ/11// Î/Jdnfc.,Pll.icra:. vrl
elements and establishing the possible relationship with the m11e3 Jv;vill/tr, kftimÎ mjftic; /411;,
spoken Nahuatl language.
/Phjtlft/> lfa6i ";,,if,~J'Uf
'NIPd~_'\ O ~ ", ' . . "
The links r '-
.., '.:'\
~ . 1 ,!,...I

Numerous and diverse graphie links are used to connect (fÂy V/1ftJ mkf ptar çrac .khl 4TV/!yi1 · mj/hi: W nzi!b1; Jnjr
the main elements, the glyphs and the figures , to one ma vi/Ji!Jilny,!fi ://a,,-,ta.M a?ZP, 111/Na V1Jf i ~ifmjlli/. afk•,~
another. They are used to link glyphs to glyphs , figures to J'dr<j'll ,#m d,1u?Itfli" ?n'-':f' ttcf
'tir Jnjaflâptrf , mi/,arÎaPI~
Jad4, a vt1 el tU&cdlà, f P-R R 1/4
figures, or glyphs to figures . The links may take several
forms: straight lines , dotted lines, footsteps, paths , links in
various colors , and so on.
»ut Ji.nJP/l .
!aJ
,= nn.û chU,P4'/1<b
m)1/couJpoàla . Âah m/tii,_1-.
iJc!·wï;tic:., ·vûrr; -vefiuli:9'.lfn.
These links may be read, but their extensive use can be vityit,i/tw!IÎ' Jnt'frn : fàz.vi/JP.
explained mai11ly by the possibility they afford of developing
/JP~t1/iC, llJW;Q
~- ffl ~ ~ fr11-.
the writing in every direction (and even three-dimensionally).
V1/Jmal/4fl- - ~ ,, ~ ._,
Unlike our own script, Nahuatl writing has no linear
extension. Its elements develop in space quite freely, but, as qPapa!dmj~-'. 1Jeiapat~a~ C <a;, _

a result, it requires the use of the link to structure the whole m.J cacan
/
ie mjlbi: cttL/2 i1Jfc. ,J

and indicate the preferred order of reading. ca, fn!c //âè1itta&·. vel iL,li.rn
The plastic links are part of this structuring process , and pa:pa!ÎJI/, pifltli/i~r,, (aca/3 17 ·
they express the way in which the various images are
IZt : Jnju/2 fu/ 11(,lf'tt!Gd ~~
arranged in relation to each other. This creates new graphie
units, groups of glyphs and figures , making stories from
firtalé j injafldJ'alwli~'ln
sets of groups . paf'alotlyia//a.tal: in alfo/.
The reading of Nahuatl texts written in the codices ikc ioumj, ÙtÂ'fa.Jn fatla~
suggests (though so far this is only a theory that still needs c"l:Jn/
to be tested) that in addition to the strict relationship that efacilon1/lli: no veia,âin/1.(,
existed between a set of elements (glyphs or figures) and a
unit of the Nahuatl language , other, more flexible ,
relationships existed alongside them, as part of a semantic
structure dictated solely by the images. Aztec script
sometimes seems to play with these two sets of sounds and
Fig. 7. Codex Florentine. Ms. Med. Palat. 220, c. 214v, Biblioteca Medicea
meanings simultaneously in order to fulfill its function of Laurenziana, Florence.
preservation and communication. The transcription of the
sounds is only used when it is deemed necessary, but
otherwise the reader seems to have been given a certain guimocihuati itoca Matlalcihuatzin. Auh omentin in
freedom of interpretation. Freedom does not mean that the guincauhtia ipilhuan, inic ce itoca Nezahualcoyotzin
signs could be ready in any way at ail, but that the structure Acolmiztzin , inic orne cihuatl itoca Tozquentzin.
of the codex might permit a number of different readings as
to form, which would nevertheless be identical as to content. [Bold indicates single explicit sounds; italics, implicit
Here is an example of how a small fragment from Plate 6 sounds (imposed by the language); bold + italics: sounds
of the Codex Xolotl could be read: inferred by the graphie context; underlined: multiple
sounds inferred by the graphie context.]
Nican ipan in motlahtocatlalli in tlacatl in itoca
Ixt/i/xochitzin Orne Tochtli, tlatoani. Yc motlallico in It was at this time that the man named Ixtlilxochitzin Orne
petlapan in icpalpan . Auh inin lxt/i/xochitzin in Tochtli was installed as ruler.

18S
 NAHUATL SCRIPT

Notes Bibliography
1. This text owes much to the exchange of correspondence between myself,
Michel Launey of the University of Paris IV and Ma. del Carmen Herrera M. ANDERS, Ferdinand , Jansen Maarten, and Luis Reyes Garcia. El libro
(DL-INAH). del Ciuacoatl, Homenaje para el aiio de Fuego Nuevo, libro
2. Ynin a//epenenonotzaliztlahtolli yhuan tlahtocatlaca- explicativo del 1/amado C6dice Borb6nico (Mexico: Fondo de
mecayonenonotzaliztlahtolli, in tliltica tlapaltica ycuiliuhtoc, machiyotoc Cuttura Econ6mica, 1991).
amapan, ayc polihuiz, ayc ylcahuiz, mochipa pie/oz and Auh ynic amo
polihuiz, ylcahuiz yn, ynic oc ceppa, ye no nehuatl axcan nicneltilia, - - -. Los templos del cielo y de la obscuridad, Oraculos y liturgia,
nicyancuilia, niccenteamoxtla/ia. Translation based on: Rubén Romero libro explicativo del 1/amado C6dice Borgia (Mexico: Fondo de
Galvân, Octava Re/aciôn, obra histôrica de Domingo Francisco de San Antôn Cuttura Econ6mica, 1993) .
Munon Chimalpahin Cuauhtlehuanitzin , lntroducciôn, estudio, paleografîa, BERDAN FRANCES, F., and J. de Durand-Forest. Matricula de Tributos
versiôn castel/ana y notas de José Rubén Romero Galvân (Mexico: UNAM,
Instituto de lnvestigaciones Hist6ricas , Serie de Cultura Nâhuatl, Fuentes , 8, (Mexico: Museo Nacional de Antropologia, 1980), nos. 35-52.
1983), and Jacqueline de Durand-Forest, l'Histoire de la vallée de Mexico DIBBLE, Charles E. C6dice Xolotl. Preface by R. Garcia Granados.
selon Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin (du XIe au XVIe siècle) (Paris: (Mexico: UNAM , lnstituto de lnvestigaciones Hist6ricas, 1951).
L'Harmattan, 1987). GALARZA, Joaquin. Lienzos de Chiepetlan (Mexico: MAEFM, 1972).
3. John B. Glass, "A survey of Native Middle American pictorial
manuscripts ," in Handbook of Middle American lndians , vol. 14 (Austin: - - - . Codex Mexicains. Catalog. Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris
University of Texas Press , 1975), pp. 3-80 [p. 39]. The codices are owned by (Paris: Société des Américanistes, 1974).
Mexico and the Distrito Federal (Mexico City) as well as by the Mexican - - -. Estudios de escritura indfgena tradicional AZTECA-NAHUATL
States of Guerrero , Hidalgo, Morelos , Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Vera Cruz. The (Mexico: Archivo General de la Naci6n, 1979).
codices of the Borgia group have been added. For this reason , several
documents written in a language other than Nahuatl may well have been - -. Codex de Zempoala (Mexico , MAEFM, 1980).
introduced. - - -, and A. Monod Becquelin. Doctrina christiana, le Pater Noster
4. "Tenîan para cada gênera sus escritores, unos que trataban de los anales (Paris: Société d'Ethnographie, 1980).
poniendo por su orden las casas que acaecîan en cada un ano, con dia, mes y KARTIUNEN, Francis. An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl 2nd edn
hora. Otros tenîan a su cargo las genealogîas y descendencias de los reyes y
senores y personas de linaje, asen/ando par cuenta y razôn los que nacîan y (Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press , 1991).
borraban los que morîan, con la misma cuenta. Unos tenîan cuidado de las PREM, Hanns J. Matricula de Huexotzinco (Ms. mex. 387 der
pinturas de los términos, limites y mojoneras de las ciudades, provincias, Bibliothèque Nationale Paris) , Einleitung Pedro Carrasco (Graz:
pueblos y lugares, y de las suer/es y repartimientos de las tierras, cuyas eran y Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt, 1974).
a quién pertenecîan. Otros, de los libros de las /eyes, ritos y ceremonias que
usaban en su infidelidad ; y los sacerdotes, de los templos, de sus idolatrîas y Qu1NONES KEBER, Eloise. Codex Tel/eriano-Remensis, Ritual,
modo de su doctrina idolâtrica y de las fiestas de sus falsos dioses y ± Divination, and History in a Pictorial Aztec Manuscript, E. Le Roy
calendarios. Y finalmente, los filôsofos y sabios que tenîan entre el/os, estaba a Ladurie (intro.) . M. Besson (illus.) (Austin: University of Texas
su cargo el pintar todas las ciencias que sabîan y alcanzaban." Ixtlilxochitl, Press , 1995).
Alva, Obras Histôricas, Ediciôn por Edmundo O'Gorman , vol. I (Mexico, UNAM ,
Instituto de Investigaciones Hist6ricas , 1975), pp. 527-528. SAHAGùN, Fray Bernardino de. C6dice Florentino. El manuscrito
5. Ali the information about the glyphs and their constituents is based on a 218-220 de la colecci6n Palatina de la Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana
study of the Codex Xolotl , and it is highly likely that some of the (Florence: Giunti Barbéra & Archivo General de la Naci6n, 1979).
characteristics mentioned are specific to the document. ÎHOUVEN0T, Marc. "L'écriture nahuatl." L'Aventure des écritures
(Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, 1997), pp. 71-81.
- - -. "Amoxcalli , publication du Fonds mexicain de la
Bibliothèque Nationale de France en cédéroms." Journal de la
Société des américanistes 84/ 3 (1998): 51-70.
- - -. "Valeurs phoniques and unités de langue dans les glyphs
des codex Xolotl and Vergara." Amérindia 23 (1999, Paris): 67-97.
- - -. Codex Vergara and Santa Maria Asunci6n: Dictionnaire des
éléments constitutifs des anthroponymes and toponymes, CD-ROM
(forthcoming).
VALLE, Perla. C6dice de Tepetlaoztoc o C6dice Kingsborough (Mexico:
El Colegio Mexiquense, 1994).

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