198 MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA 
A few examples of Nahuan hieroglyphs will now be 
given to illustrate this interesting method of writing. 
It must be remembered that there is nothing in the 
nature of a connected narrative. The hieroglyphs or 
word pictures are limited to geographical and personal 
aa ded 
tlan from tlantli, teeth 
A 
Caltepec 
miz from miztli, cloud 
cal from calli, house 
Pantepec 
Miztlan Itztlan Petlatlan Tecalco 
Fig. 71. Aztecan Place Names. 
names, including the names of gods, to months, days, 
numbers, units of measure, and objects of commerce. 
Some of the signs are in no degree realistic and have a 
definite meaning by common consent alone, such as the 
symbol for gold (Fig. 70). Others are abbreviated and 
conventionalized pictures of objects. ‘Thus the head of 
a god or of an animal frequently appears as the sign of 
the whole. But the most important and interesting 
