Hewn Words: Deciphering the Tizoc Stone
Willem VanEssendelft
Master of Liberal Arts in Anthropology and Archaeology, Candidate.
Dr. Marc Zender, Advisor
Harvard Extension School
The Aztec represented locations with glyphic
(writing) systems and deity iconography. There is
a direct relationship between gods and physical
locations. This is exemplified by the common
Aztec practice of removing local deity effigies
when they conquered a new area.
The Tizoc stone details 15 conquests by the
Aztec ruler Tizoc (ruled 1481 – 1486) and his
predecessors. As such, it is a geographic listing
which utilizes religious iconography and probable
writing to delineate name places.
Glyph Block 4
Glyph Block 13
Above are two glyphs which are undeciphered and name an
unidentified location. Several possibilities have been proposed
by scholars (Nicholson, Wicke).
By deciphering the glyphs we will be able to more fully map the
conquests shown on the Stone. We will also be able to
accurately correlate the locations to other codices and records
to reconstruct the military and political conquests of the Aztecs
prior to Spanish contact.
The predominant work with place name
identification has rested on iconographic
interpretation of deities associated with locations
or known polity symbols.
This project seeks to analyze the glyphs to
determine if they have syllabic content. Can we
read them like Maya or Japanese? It utilizes a
newly proposed syllabary by Alfonso Lacadena.
Yellow = Deity Impersonation and mythical markings
Green = Locale Differentiators
Red
= Glyphic Data
3.5 feet high
10 feet diameter
9.5 Tons
The Tizoc Stone
Discovered 1790
Mexico City
Above, partial listing of probable locations shown on the Tizoc Stone.
References: Lacadena, Alfonso. 2008. Regional scribal traditions: Methodological implications for the decipherment ofNahuatl writing. The PARI Journal 8(4):1. Umberger, Emily. 1998. New Blood from an Old Stone. Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl Vol. 28:241. Wicke, Charles R. 1974. Once more around the Tizoc Stone: A Reconsideration. Actas Del XLI Congreso Internacional de Americanistas Vol. II:209. Zender, Marc.
2006. Tizoc: The Name and Reign of an Aztec Tlahtoani. Paper presented before the Precolombian Society of Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.