|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ened, was dragged from the battleground.
36 The soldiers behind the front lines bound the wounded enemy warriors.37 The captives' hands were tied behind their backs, and sometimes their feet were bound as well. Wooden collars called cuauhcozcatl were placed around their necks,38 and they were sometimes placed in cages.39 In one of the early battles under King Itzcoatl against Xochimilco, the Aztecs cut one ear from each captive,40 but this action was atypical. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The captives' fate depended, in part, on the enemies' actions and how the town submitted. Towns that submitted on request or before combat began paid tribute, but their occupants were not taken captive (assuming no grievous offense had been committed, such as killing Aztec merchants). Once battle began, however, captives would be taken.41 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Codex Mendoza42 depicts captives being taken by warriors of various statuses, from novices to cuahchicqueh (see fig. 2). However, all of the prisoners are dressed as warriors who have not yet taken a captive. No veteran warriors or members of military orders are shown captured, which doubtless reflects the true situation and is not merely an artistic convention. Novices and commoners were the likeliest prey, because they lacked the skill and experience to prevail in combat, especially against veteran soldiers, and they also made up the bulk of the combatants. In sum, the inexperienced and the unskilled formed the group upon which the skillful warriors preyed, built their reputations, and ascended socially. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At the same time, being taken captive was also to be avoided. Youths, in particular, strove so hard to avoid capture that they reportedly preferred being cut to pieces.43 Rather than throwing down their arms and being taken prisoner, they fought on and were killed. And because warriors with greater skills and prestige risked more in being captured, they probably fought it with greater vigor, even to the death when feasible. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Seizure in combat did not irrevocably mean capture: the captors had to win or at least fight to a draw. Thus warriors taken by ultimately vanquished towns did not remain prisoners. But for a warrior to return home after he had been a bona fide captive was dishonorable.44 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Captured enemies were enslaved and later sacrificed to the gods;45 as a general rule, they were neither freed nor ransomed.46 Most captives were taken to Tenochtitlan or other cities to be sacrificed, but not all. The first prisoner taken in battle was sacrificed on the spot. |
|
|
|
|
|