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with a simple point. Thus, Nickel
52 classes these implements as "halberds." The tepoztopilli is effective for thrusting and slashing as well as for parrying at a distance, but it is less effective if the enemy closes, although the blades on the rearward portion of the head permit an effective backward pull. In one engagement a spear pierced Díaz del Castillo's metal armor and was stopped only by the thick underpadding of cotton.53 They were not intended for throwing, but could be if necessary.54 |
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There are no known surviving examples of the Aztec thrusting spears,55 but there are numerous illustrations in various sixteenth-century drawings and one example did survive in the Real Armería in Madrid until it was destroyed in the great fire of 1884. There is a print of the weapon, although the implement is mislabeled (see fig. 10).56 The tepoztopilli was usually about the length of a man, from around 1.8 to 2.2 meters (5.97.2 feet) long, with a triangular, ovoid, or diamond-shaped head with closely set stone blades forming a nearly continuous cutting edge.57 The use of thrusting lances and other thrusting spears greatly predates the Aztecs in Mesoamerica. The weapons were present among the formative-era Olmecs,58 at Teotihuacan,59 and among the classic Maya.60 |
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The Aztec swords (macuahuitl), which the Spaniards quickly labeled with the Taino word macana, seem to have been of at least two varietiesone-handed and two-handed61 (see figs. 4, 5, 7, 11, 13, 3133). These were made of wood, usually oak, 76 to 102 millimeters (34 inches) wide and a little over a meter (3.5 feet) long.62 They had obsidian or flint blades fitted and glued into grooves along the edge. Drawings indicate rectangular, ovoid, and pointed designs. |
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The adhesive employed varied, with both bitumen and "turtle dung glue" being cited for the task.63 Some swords had thongs through which the user could put his hand to secure the weapon in battle. The two-handed variety is described as being about four inches wide and as tall as a man.64 Macuahuitl wielders are regularly depicted with the sword in one hand and a shield in the other, but using a two-handed sword obviously precludes that.65 |
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The macuahuitl is bladed on both sides and can be used in a powerful downward slash, but it can also inflict a sharp backhand cut. One of the persistent observations of the conquistadors was the ability of these swords to cut the head from a horse with a single blow.66 Furthermore, the Aztec swords were described by the con- |
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