Tlahcuilolli
/tɬaʔkʷiˈloːlːi/noun
A Classical Nahuatl term for something written, painted, or inscribed, especially a manuscript or pictorial record.
Did you know?In Nahuatl intellectual culture, writing and painting were not sharply separated: a tlahcuilolli could preserve history, ritual knowledge, tribute, genealogy, and sacred meaning through images and signs.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Nahuan
Proto-Nahuan
*tla-kuiloa
“Reconstructed verbal formation associated with making marks, writing, or painting; the exact prehistoric form is scholarly reconstruction.”
16th Century
Classical Nahuatl
tlahcuiloa
“To write, paint, draw, or inscribe.”
16th Century
Classical Nahuatl
tlacuilo
“A painter, scribe, or specialist who produced painted and written records.”
16th Century
Classical Nahuatl
tlahcuilolli
“Something written or painted; a written or pictorial record.”
20th–21st Century
English scholarly usage
tlahcuilolli
“A Nahuatl term used by scholars for painted or written Indigenous Mesoamerican records and manuscripts.”
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