Aztec writing
Encyclopedia
Aztec or Nahuatl writing is a pictographic
and ideographic pre-Columbian
writing system
used in central Mexico
by the Nahua peoples. The majority of the Aztec codices were burned either by Aztec
tlatoani
(emperors), or by Spanish
clergy following the conquest of Mesoamerica
. Remaining Aztec codices
such as Codex Mendoza
, Codex Borbonicus
, and Codex Osuna were written on deer hide and plant fiber.
Aztec writing, however, is not considered to be a complete writing system that can communicate everything that can be expressed verbally and understood without a great deal of contextual information. This is because there is no complete set of characters that map to every verbal element in Nahuatl. The writing system is believed to be more of a mnemonic
device to record tributary obligations
, simple chronologies and the like. For this reason, Aztec writing is considered to be a proto-writing system.
is also thought to descend from the Zapotec. The first Oaxaca
n inscriptions are thought to encode Zapotec, partially because of numerical suffixes characteristic of the Zapotec languages.
and ideographic proto-writing, augmented by phonetic rebuses. There was no alphabet, but puns also contributed to recording sounds of the Aztec language. Unlike the Maya Script
, Aztec is not considered a complete writing system because there was no set corpus of signs or set rules on how they were used. Instead, Aztec scribes created individual compositions, with each scribe deciding how to represent the ideas he wished to convey. The only conventionalized signs that were for a few plants, animals, parts of the human body, natural phenomena, some cultural artifacts, and the names of the first 20 days of the calendar. And in native manuscripts, the sequence of historical events are indicted by a line of footprints leading from one place or scene to another. Names of towns were often represented by pictures of typical vegetation of that region.
These logographic glyphs were used by other peoples of Central Mexico who spoke different languages.
The ideographic nature of the script is apparent in abstract concepts, such as death, represented by a corpse wrapped for burial; night, drawn as a black sky and a closed eye; war, by a shield and a club; and speech, illustrated as a little scroll issuing from mouth of the person who is talking. The concepts of motion and walking were indicated by a trail of footprints.
A glyph could be used as a rebus to represent a different word with the same sound or similar pronunciation. This is especially evident in the glyphs of town names. For example, the glyph for Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, was represented by combining two pictograms: stone (te-tl) and cactus (nochtli).
Aztec writing was not read in any particular order, and the glyphs were not written linearly, but arranged to ideographically represent a scene. At the bottom of the picture would be the ground, at the top the sky, and in between the actors and scenes of the narrative.
Since the Aztecs had not discovered the rules of perspective, distance is shown by placing the furthest figures at the top of the page and the nearest at the bottom. Relative importance is indicated by size: a victorious king, for example, may be drawn larger than his defeated enemy. Color is also important. The signs for grass, canes, and rushes look very much the same in black and white, but in color there could be no mistake: in the Codex Mendoza
grass is yellow, canes are blue, rushes green. A ruler could be recognized at once from the shape of his diadem and from its color, turquoise, which was reserved for royal use
. They indicated quantities up to twenty by the requisite number of dots. A flat was used to indicate twenty, repeating it for quantities up to four hundred, while a sign like a fir tree, meaning numerous as hairs, signified four hundred. The next unit, eight thousand, was indicated by a bag, which referred to the almost innumerable contents of a sack of cacao beans
Aztecs also used continuous year-count annals to record anything that would occur during that year. All the years are painted in a sequence and most of the years are generally in a single straight line that reads continually from left to right. Events, such as solar eclipses, floods, droughts, or famines, are painted around the years, often linked to the years by a line or just painted adjacent to them. Specific individuals were not mentioned often, but unnamed humans were often painted in order to represent actions or events.
Pictogram
A pictograph, also called pictogram or pictogramme is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to considerable extent pictorial in appearance.Pictography is a...
and ideographic pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
writing system
Writing system
A writing system is a symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language.-General properties:Writing systems are distinguished from other possible symbolic communication systems in that the reader must usually understand something of the associated spoken language to...
used in central Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
by the Nahua peoples. The majority of the Aztec codices were burned either by Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
tlatoani
Tlatoani
Tlatoani is the Nahuatl term for the ruler of an altepetl, a pre-Hispanic state. The word literally means "speaker", but may be translated into English as "king". A is a female ruler, or queen regnant....
(emperors), or by Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
clergy following the conquest of Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
. Remaining Aztec codices
Aztec codices
Aztec codices are books written by pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs. These codices provide some of the best primary sources for Aztec culture....
such as Codex Mendoza
Codex Mendoza
The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, created about twenty years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico with the intent that it be seen by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain...
, Codex Borbonicus
Codex Borbonicus
The Codex Borbonicus is an Aztec codex written by Aztec priests shortly before or after the Spanish conquest of Mexico. The codex is named after the Palais Bourbon in France. It is held at the Bibliothèque de l'Assemblée Nationale in Paris...
, and Codex Osuna were written on deer hide and plant fiber.
Aztec writing, however, is not considered to be a complete writing system that can communicate everything that can be expressed verbally and understood without a great deal of contextual information. This is because there is no complete set of characters that map to every verbal element in Nahuatl. The writing system is believed to be more of a mnemonic
Mnemonic
A mnemonic , or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory. To improve long term memory, mnemonic systems are used to make memorization easier. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often verbal, such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something,...
device to record tributary obligations
Tribute
A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...
, simple chronologies and the like. For this reason, Aztec writing is considered to be a proto-writing system.
Origin
The Aztec writing system is adopted from writing systems used in Central Mexico, such as Zapotec writing. Mixtec writingMixtec writing
Mixtec writing originated as a logographic writing system during the Post-Classic period in Mesoamerican history. Records of genealogy, historic events, and myths are found in the pre-Columbian Mixtec codices. The arrival of Europeans in 1520 AD caused changes in form, style, and the function of...
is also thought to descend from the Zapotec. The first Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
n inscriptions are thought to encode Zapotec, partially because of numerical suffixes characteristic of the Zapotec languages.
Structure and use
Aztec was pictographicPictogram
A pictograph, also called pictogram or pictogramme is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to considerable extent pictorial in appearance.Pictography is a...
and ideographic proto-writing, augmented by phonetic rebuses. There was no alphabet, but puns also contributed to recording sounds of the Aztec language. Unlike the Maya Script
Maya script
The Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs or Maya hieroglyphs, is the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered...
, Aztec is not considered a complete writing system because there was no set corpus of signs or set rules on how they were used. Instead, Aztec scribes created individual compositions, with each scribe deciding how to represent the ideas he wished to convey. The only conventionalized signs that were for a few plants, animals, parts of the human body, natural phenomena, some cultural artifacts, and the names of the first 20 days of the calendar. And in native manuscripts, the sequence of historical events are indicted by a line of footprints leading from one place or scene to another. Names of towns were often represented by pictures of typical vegetation of that region.
These logographic glyphs were used by other peoples of Central Mexico who spoke different languages.
The ideographic nature of the script is apparent in abstract concepts, such as death, represented by a corpse wrapped for burial; night, drawn as a black sky and a closed eye; war, by a shield and a club; and speech, illustrated as a little scroll issuing from mouth of the person who is talking. The concepts of motion and walking were indicated by a trail of footprints.
A glyph could be used as a rebus to represent a different word with the same sound or similar pronunciation. This is especially evident in the glyphs of town names. For example, the glyph for Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, was represented by combining two pictograms: stone (te-tl) and cactus (nochtli).
Aztec writing was not read in any particular order, and the glyphs were not written linearly, but arranged to ideographically represent a scene. At the bottom of the picture would be the ground, at the top the sky, and in between the actors and scenes of the narrative.
Since the Aztecs had not discovered the rules of perspective, distance is shown by placing the furthest figures at the top of the page and the nearest at the bottom. Relative importance is indicated by size: a victorious king, for example, may be drawn larger than his defeated enemy. Color is also important. The signs for grass, canes, and rushes look very much the same in black and white, but in color there could be no mistake: in the Codex Mendoza
Codex Mendoza
The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec codex, created about twenty years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico with the intent that it be seen by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain...
grass is yellow, canes are blue, rushes green. A ruler could be recognized at once from the shape of his diadem and from its color, turquoise, which was reserved for royal use
Numerical
The Aztec numerical system was vigesimalVigesimal
The vigesimal or base 20 numeral system is based on twenty .- Places :...
. They indicated quantities up to twenty by the requisite number of dots. A flat was used to indicate twenty, repeating it for quantities up to four hundred, while a sign like a fir tree, meaning numerous as hairs, signified four hundred. The next unit, eight thousand, was indicated by a bag, which referred to the almost innumerable contents of a sack of cacao beans
Historical
Aztecs embraced the widespread manner of presenting history cartographically. A cartographic map would hold an elaborately detailed history recording events. The maps were painted to be reading sequence, so that time is established by the movement of the narrative through the map and by the succession of individual maps.Aztecs also used continuous year-count annals to record anything that would occur during that year. All the years are painted in a sequence and most of the years are generally in a single straight line that reads continually from left to right. Events, such as solar eclipses, floods, droughts, or famines, are painted around the years, often linked to the years by a line or just painted adjacent to them. Specific individuals were not mentioned often, but unnamed humans were often painted in order to represent actions or events.