Aztec script

Aztec
Script type
Pictographic and logosyllabic
CreatorThe Nahua peoples
Period
Most extant manuscripts from the 16th century
DirectionTop-to bottom, left-to right
LanguagesNahuatl
Related scripts
Sister systems
Mixtec

The Aztec or Nahuatl script is a pre-Columbian writing system that combines ideographic writing with Nahuatl specific phonetic logograms and syllabic signs which was used in central Mexico by the Nahua people in the Epiclassic and Post-classic periods. It was originally thought that its use was reserved for elites; however, the topographical codices and early colonial catechisms, recently deciphered, were used by tlacuilos (scribes), macehuallis (peasants), and pochtecas (merchants).