. Aztec or Nahuatl writing is a pictographic pre-Columbian writing system used in central Mexico by the Nahua peoples
| Aztec | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Script type | Pictographic
|
Period | Most extant manuscripts from the 16th century. |
| Languages | Nahuatl |
| Related scripts | |
Sister systems | Mixtec |
| Unicode | |
| U+15C00 to U+15FFF (tentative)[1] | |
Origin
While the true origin of the writing system still remains unclear, it is thought that the origin of the Aztec writing system is from the Zapotec. The first Oaxacan inscriptions are through to be from the Zapotec, especially because the Zapotec were distinct in their use of suffixes for numerals.[1] Additional writing systems descended from the Zapotec, including the Aztec writing system and the Mixtec writing system.
Type of Writing System
The Aztec writing system system can be classified as a logographic writing system, in which each symbol represents a different word or idea. However, the writing system shows some complexity because the symbols are pictographic, ideographic, and has phonetic components. A pictogram is a smaller picture symbol of the object it is representing. For example, This also means that the writing system was also ideographic, which means that symbol represented a concept, that was not too easily seen. An ideogram represents messages and underlying concepts and ideas. For example, death is represent by a corpse wrapped by burial. In addition, the Aztec writing system utilized the rebus principle, in which words that sounded the same could be represented by a similar symbol.[2]
References
- Lawrence Lo. "Aztec". Ancient Scripts.
- Nicholson, H. B. (1974). "Phoneticism in the Late Pre-Hispanic Central Mexican Writing System". In E. P. Bensen (ed.). Mesoamerica Writing Systems. pp. 1–46.
- Prem, Hanns J. (1992). "Aztec Writing". Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Volume 5: Epigraphy. Austin: University of Texas Press.
- Thouvenot, Marc (2002). "Nahuatl Script". In Anne-Marie Christin (ed.). A History of Writing: From Hieroglyph to Multimedia. Flammarion.
See also
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