pyramid at Tula-Cholula

This glyph-like detail of the “Tlachivaltepetl”(tlachihualtepetl, Nahuatl for pyramid) at “TOLLAN.CHOLVLA” includes swirling water across the bottom. The water representation captures pre-Hispanic stylistics that encompass currents and eddies. It also shows shells (snail shells and conch shells, perhaps) next to the water flow, another ancient indicator of water, although the style has changed somewhat from earlier manuscript representations of water. The water is colored green, which is close enough to the pre-Hispanic coloring, but the red coloring of the shells may be unusual. Above the water we see reeds with cattails, symbolic of the name Tollan (place of reeds, tolli or tulli, which became tules in Spanish). Behind the reeds we see the artificial hill, with markings that suggest adobe brick construction, clarifying that this is a “made” hill (tlachihualli + tepetl), not a natural one. The pyramid is painted pink or red, and this is not unusual for both pre-Hispanic and post-contact constructions often had red exteriors in the sixteenth century. On the top of the pyramid we see what appears to be a trumpet, a European musical instrument. [SW]