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Computer been hacked?

29th Jul 2021

Computer been hacked?

Codex Zouche-Nuttall image of a town conquered by Mixtec ruler 8=Deer

Folksy image of a man stressing out over his damaged keyboard?
No, this hieroglyphic picture from the Codex Tonindeye/Zouche-Nuttall (a detail from plate 74) actually shows the toponym (place sign) of a town - in Oaxaca, southern Mexico - conquered by the famous Mixtec ruler Eight Deer Jaguar Claw, who successfully expanded his domain during the 11th century... (Compiled by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore)

Just one of the 94 towns conquered by the powerful and aggressive 8-Deer and depicted in the Codex (now housed in the British Museum), this one has an unusual name: Wall-on-which-man-cries (the previous town conquered in this campaign was called River-where-pulque*-is-made).
The only element that perhaps needs explanation is the dart or arrow behind the man’s foot. In the Mixtec language the phrase chihi nduvua ñuhu ñaha means ‘to put an arrow into the lands of another’. This decorated ‘arrow of conquest’ can be seen piercing the toponym of every town subdued by 8-Deer, who hailed from Tilantongo.

Image from the Codex Tonindeye/Zouche-Nuttall scanned from our own copy of the ADEVA facsimile edition, Graz, Austria, 1987.

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