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Our knowledge of Mesoamerican arms is incomplete, but information is available from a wide range of sources. Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century accounts contain considerable discussion of Aztec weapons, there are numerous depictions in various codices, in sculpture, and in paintings, and a few examples have been preserved in museums. Although the most important weapons are repeatedly mentioned in the historical sources, others receive only few references in scattered documents, which suggests that additional, less common arms are no longer known. Therefore, the likelihood of achieving a comprehensive listing of Aztec arms is small. |
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The most general division of arms, for our purposes, is into offensive and defensive weapons. Offensive weapons are used to take an objective by projecting force, and they include bows and arrows, darts and atlatls, spears, slings, swords, and clubs. Defensive weapons more or less passively protect the user, and they include body armor, helmets, and shields. The Aztecs' main offensive arms were projectile weapons and shock weapons such as spears and clubs.
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Projectile weapons enable the user to strike at the enemy at a distance and, among the Aztecs, included atlatls, bows, and slings. |
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The atlatl (ahtlatl), or spear-thrower, was used to throw ''darts'' |
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