![]() ![]() The butt end of a projectile would be placed in its end, and the wielder would swing the tool overarm, launching the dart or spike.Ītlatl, or variations of the device, were popular throughout pre-Columbian America and were also used by the Maya civilisation. They were essentially sticks that acted like levers to extend a person’s throwing arm. Spear-throwerĪztec warriors used tools known as atlatl to launch spears, darts and arrows. She showed me how Moctezuma and his people were not just the exotic, bloody figures of European stereotypes and how the Mexica people did not simply capitulate to Spanish culture and colonization but realigned political allegiances, held new obligations and adopted unfamiliar technologies. ![]() For the first time, she has given these sources proper attention, providing a fresh take on our understanding of native Mexicans. Camilla Townsend is a Professor of History at Rutgers University. After being taught the Roman alphabet, the Native Americans used it to write detailed histories in their own language of Nahuatl. A key part of the story has been overlooked - until now. The story which follows has been told countless times following a Spanish narrative. In November 1519, Hernando Cortés approached the capital of the Aztec kingdom and came face to face with its ruler, Moctezuma. Its superior reach would be extended forwards and used to slice, jab and topple enemies. The weapon varied from roughly 3 feet long to the height of a man, sometimes 7 feet in length.ĭue to its length, tepoztopilli would have been held by those on the front line of the Aztec army. Shovel-headed spearĪ sort of spear, the tepoztopilli was a long, wooden weapon with a shovel-like tip that would be lined with obsidian blades. It’s thought that they may have been utilised in battle when necessary, too: trained hunters would have been deployed to fire poison-tipped darts at enemies. Known as tlacalhuazcuahuitl, blowguns – typically a narrow tube used to fire darts – were regularly used by Aztec hunters. The huitzauhqui, on the other hand, was a club shaped liked a baseball bat, sometimes lined with small blades or protrusions. For example, the cuahuitl was a short hardwood club. The Aztecs also used a range of variations on the classic macuahuitl. Shaped like a cricket bat, its edges were lined with razor-sharp obsidian blades that would have been capable of severing limbs and inflicting devastating harm.Īs Europeans invaded and colonised Aztec lands, the macuahuitl earned notoriety as the most fearsome of all Aztec weapons, and a number of them were sent back to Europe for inspection and study. The macuahuitl was a wooden weapon somewhere between a club, a broadsword and a chainsaw. ![]() Image Credit: Zuchinni one / CC BY-SA 3.0 1. Crucially, the Aztecs possessed only a rudimentary knowledge of metallurgy, so they weren’t capable of crafting metal weapons that could rival European armaments like swords and cannon.įrom clubs lined with obsidian blades to sharp, shovel-headed spears, here are 7 of the deadliest weapons used by the Aztecs.Ī modern recreation of a ceremonial macuahuitl made by Shai Azoulai. Though fragile, it could be made razor-sharp, so it was utilised in many of their weapons. Obsidian was a volcanic glass available in abundance to the Aztecs. Then came the messy melee of hand-to-hand combat, in which warriors would wield axes, spears and clubs lined with obsidian blades. As the two forces approached, projectiles such as spears and poison-tipped darts would be launched. Notorious for their military prowess and fearsome efficiency in battle, the Aztecs built a sprawling empire of more than 300 city-states before they were conquered by the Spanish in 1521.īefore the Europeans arrived, battles in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica typically began with a face-off: drums were pounded and both sides postured and readied for conflict. The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican civilisation that conquered swathes of central Mexico in the late middle ages. ![]()
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