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hind the shield. Third, a quiver hanging from the left side of the headband makes retrieving a dart with the left hand very awkward. Fourth, it seems unlikely that a warrior would go into combat with several pounds of darts hanging from one side of his head, thereby seriously imbalancing him. And fifth, these figures are holding atlatl darts in their left hands along with clubs, so also placing them in a headband quiver is unlikely. |
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30. There are numerous depictions of warriors with a macuahuitl in their right hand and a shield and atlatl darts in their left. See Códice Telleriano-Remensis 196465:269, 279, 281, 287, 289, 291, 299, 309, 311, 313, 315; Códice Vaticano 196465:245, 247, 253, 255, 257, 271, 279, 281, 283, 285. |
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31. Mendieta 1971:130. |
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32. Muñoz Camargo 1981:258v; Chavero 1979:lámina 13, 48; Clark 1938, 2:63v; Códice de Huamantla in Códices de México 1979:79. In a drawing in room 22 of Las Monjas at Chichen Itza a Mayan warrior is shown carrying an atlatl in the right hand and a shield in the left. This shield is held in place by two straps, one passing over the forearm and the other over the palm, so that the shield rests against the back of the hand. The top of the strap goes across the palm between the thumb and forefinger. This leaves the open hand relatively unencumbered, and the warrior is depicted holding several atlatl darts in that hand. These darts extend horizontally in front and behind the warrior, which would permit the hand to accommodate other items as well (Bolles 1977:205). However, some shields had a single broad strap that enabled the user to wear it on the arm without encumbering the hand, such as those depicted at present-day Cacaxtla, Tlaxcala (Kubler 1980:168, 170), even to the extent that the shield hand could be used to wield other weaponsin this instance, a knife (Barrera Rubio 1980:179). |
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33. See Nuttall 1975:20. |
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34. Turney-High 1949:1215; Díaz del Castillo 190816, 1:118 [bk. 2, chap. 34]. Projectile fire alone was sometimes sufficiently effective to drive off the enemy (Chimalpahin 1965:93 [relación 3]), particularly when combined with an advantageous tactical situation. For example, 400 Tlaxcaltec archers were able to hold a bridge against the Aztecs (Cortés 1971:243 [letter 3]). |
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35. Díaz del Castillo 190816, 1:118 [bk. 2, chap. 34]; Muñoz Camargo 1892:17. |
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36. The warriors at Chichen Itza are depicted holding a curved or gunstock-shaped device that is described as "the curved stick with which darts can be batted out of their deadly course" (Morris, Charlot, and Morris 1931, 1:252). This identification is erroneous. The battle scene (Morris, Charlot, and Morris 1931, 2:plate 139) shows warriors with battle dress, shields, and their "fending sticks" but with no offensive arms in this interpretation (which is very unlikely), while others, also clad for battle, carry these sticks and atlatl darts. This curved device is depicted elsewhere at Chichen Itza (Morris, Charlot, and Morris 1931, 2:passim) in a context that makes its martial use obvious. The device is clearly a club of some sort, probably inlaid with obsidian blades, as evidenced by a sacrifice scene (Morris, Charlot, and Morris 1931, 2:plate 145) and the parallel lines drawn inside |
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