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shields of split bamboo woven together with maguey fiber, reinforced with bamboo as thick as a man's arm, and then covered with feathers. Other shields called cuauhchimalli, were made of wood.
81 Some shields were made with a feather facing over which was laid beaten copper.82 One type of shield was constructed so that it rolled up when it was not needed in fighting and was unrolled to cover the body from head to toe.83 Shields were covered with painted hide, feathers, and gold and silver foil ornamentation.84 The feather ornamentation varied by color, type, and design, according to the owner's status, merit, and so forth.85 The Aztecs used round shields,86 although square or rectangular examples are found throughout the classic and early postclassic in the Maya area, Gulf coast, and at Cacaxtlan (present-day Cacaxtla, Tlaxcala).87 |
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As part of the royal fifth, Cortés sent the king a shield of wood and leather with brass bells on the rim and a gold boss with the figure of Huitzilopochtli on it. The handle had carvings of four headsa puma, a jaguar, an eagle, and a vulture.88 As the Anonymous Conqueror cautioned of the Aztec shields sent to Spain, many were of the type used in dances and ceremonies (mahuizzoh chimalli) and not the sturdy war shields (see fig. 12).89 One shield examined by Peter Martyr d'Anghera in Spain was made of stout reeds covered with gold, and the back was lined with a jaguar skin. The lower part of the shield was decorated with a feather fringe that hung down more than a palma (0.209 meters or 8.2 inches).90 The hanging border of feathers was a common feature, and, though appearing fragile, it afforded additional protection to the user's legs.91 Such feather fringes could easily stop a spent projectile and deflect others, and the feature predates the Aztecs, being depicted in murals at the classic site of Cacaxtlan, at Teotihuacan,92 and among the classic Maya.93 They were probably intended primarily for protection against projectiles and not against clubs or swords.94 |
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The feather workers of Tenochtitlan made shields,95 and as part of their tribute the Aztecs received shields covered with fine, many-colored feather work and gold, depicting weapons, gods, kings, and scenes of great deeds in the past.96 These were made of fire-hardened sticks so strong and heavy that, reportedly, not even a sword could damage them. According to the conquistadors, a crossbow could shoot through them but not a bow.97 |
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The two feather shields in the WÜrttembergisches Landes-museum in Stuttgart are 0.71 and 0.75 meters (28 and 30 inches) in |
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