| Macuahuitl | |
|---|---|
.jpg) A modern recreation of two ceremonial macuahuitl based on codices. | |
| Type | Sword |
| Place of origin | Mexico |
| Service history | |
| In service | Formative stage toPost-Classic stage (1000 BCE–AD 1570) |
| Used by | Mesoamerican civilizations, includingAztecs Indian auxiliaries ofSpain[1] |
| Wars | Aztec expansionism,Mesoamerican wars Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 2.0–3.0 kg (4.4–6.6 lb) |
| Length | 90–120 cm (35–47 in) |
| Blade type | Straight, thick, double-edged, tapered |
| Hilt type | Double-handed swept |
| Scabbard/sheath | Unknown |
| Head type | Trapezoidal |
| Haft type | Straight, wood covered by leather |
Amacuahuitl ([maːˈkʷawit͡ɬ]) is a weapon, a woodensword with several embeddedobsidian blades. The name is derived from theNahuatl language and means "hand-wood".[2] Its sides are embedded withprismatic blades traditionallymade from obsidian, which is capable of producing an edge sharper than high quality steel razor blades. The macuahuitl was a standard close combat weapon.
Use of the macuahuitl as a weapon is attested from the first millennium CE, although specimens can be found in art dating to at leastpre-classic times.[3] By the time of theSpanish conquest the macuahuitl was widely distributed inMesoamerica. The weapon was used by different civilisations including theAztec (Mexicas),Olmec,Maya,Mixtec,Toltec, andTarascans.
One example of this weapon survived theConquest of the Aztec Empire; it was part of theRoyal Armoury of Madrid until it was destroyed by a fire in 1884. Images of the original designs survive in diverse catalogues. The oldest replica is the macuahuitl created by the medievalistAchille Jubinal in the 19th century.
The maquahuitl (Classical Nahuatl:māccuahuitl, otherorthographic variants includemākkwawitl andmācquahuitl; pluralmāccuahuimeh),[4] a type ofmacana, was a common weapon used by theAztec military forces and other cultures of central Mexico. It was noted during the 16th-centurySpanish conquest of the region. Other military equipment recorded includes theround shield (chīmalli,[t͡ʃiˈmalːi]), thebow (tlahuītōlli,[t͡ɬaʔwiːˈtoːlːi]), and thespear-thrower (ahtlatl,[ˈaʔt͡ɬat͡ɬ]).[5] Its sides are embedded withprismatic blades traditionallymade from obsidian (volcanic glass); obsidian is capable of producing an edge sharper than high-quality steel razor blades.[6]
It was capable of inflicting serious lacerations from the rows ofobsidian blades embedded in its sides. These could beknapped into blades or spikes, or into a circular design that looked like scales.[7] The macuahuitl is not specifically a sword or a club, although it approximates a European broadsword.[2] Historian John Pohl defines the weapon as a "kind of a saw sword".[8]
According to conquistadorBernal Díaz del Castillo, the macuahuitl was 0.91 to 1.22 m long, and 75 mm wide, with a groove along either edge, into which sharp-edged pieces of flint or obsidian were inserted and firmly fixed with an adhesive.[9] Based on his research, historian John Pohl indicates that the length was just over a meter, although other models were larger, and intended for use with both hands.[10]
According to the research of historian Marco Cervera Obregón, the sharp pieces of obsidian, each about 3 cm long, were attached to the flat paddle with a natural adhesive,bitumen.[11]
The rows of obsidian blades were sometimes discontinuous, leaving gaps along the side, while at other times the rows were set close together and formed a single edge.[12] It was noted by the Spanish that the macuahuitl was so cleverly constructed that the blades could be neither pulled out nor broken. The macuahuitl was made with either a one-handed or two-handed grip, as well as in rectangular, ovoid, or pointed forms. Two-handed macuahuitl have been described as being "as tall as a man".[13]
According toNational School of Anthropology and History (ENAH) archaeologistMarco Cervera Obregón, there were two versions of this weapon: The macuahuitl, about 70 to 80 centimetres (28 to 31 in) long with six to eight blades on each side; and the mācuāhuitzōctli, a smaller club about 50 centimetres (20 in) long with only four obsidian blades.[14]
According toRoss Hassig, the last authentic macuahuitl was destroyed in 1884 in a fire in theReal Armería in Madrid, where it was housed beside the lasttepoztopilli.[13][15] According to Marco Cervera Obregón, there is supposed to be at least one macuahuitl in aMuseo Nacional de Antropología warehouse,[16] but it is possibly lost.[17]
No actual maquahuitl specimens remain and the present knowledge of them comes from contemporaneous accounts and illustrations that date to the 16th century and earlier.[12]
For the exhibition "Tenochtitlan y Tlatelolco. A 500 años de su caída" at the Museo del Templo Mayor inMexico city, an alleged authentic macuahuitl was displayed along with anatlatl.[18]
The maquahuitl predates the Aztecs. Tools made from obsidian fragments were used by some of the earliest Mesoamericans. Obsidian used in ceramic vessels has been found at Aztec sites. Obsidian cutting knives, sickles, scrapers, drills, razors, and arrow points have also been found.[19] Several obsidian mines were close to the Aztec civilizations in theValley of Mexico as well as in the mountains north of the valley.[20] Among these were theSierra de las Navajas (Razor Mountains), named after their obsidian deposits. Use of the macuahuitl as a weapon is attested from the 1st millennia CE. A Mayan carving atChichen Itza shows a warrior holding a macuahuitl, depicted as a club having separate blades sticking out from each side. In a mural, a warrior holds a club with many blades on one side and one sharp point on the other, also a possible variant of the macuahuitl.[12][21] Some attestations of a type of macuahuitl are also present dating to Olmec times.[22]
By the time of theSpanish conquest, the macuahuitl was widely distributed inMesoamerica, with records of its use by the Aztecs, Mixtecs, Tarascans, Toltecs and others.[23] It was also commonly used by theIndian auxiliaries of Spain,[24] though they favored Spanish swords. As Mesoamericans in Spanish service needed a special permission to carry European arms, metal swords brought Indian auxiliaries more prestige than maquahuitls in the eyes of Europeans as well as natives.[25]
The macuahuitl was sharp enough to decapitate a man.[19] According to an account byBernal Díaz del Castillo, one ofHernán Cortés'sconquistadors, it could even decapitate a horse:
Pedro de Morón was a very good horseman, and as he charged with three other horsemen into the ranks of the enemy the Indians seized hold of his lance and he was not able to drag it away, and others gave him cuts with their broadswords, and wounded him badly, and then they slashed at the mare, and cut her head off at the neck so that it hung by the skin, and she fell dead.[26]
Another account by a companion of Cortés known asThe Anonymous Conqueror tells a similar story of its effectiveness:
They have swords of this kind – of wood made like a two-handed sword, but with the hilt not so long; about three fingers in breadth. The edges are grooved, and in the grooves they insert stone knives, that cut like aToledo blade. I saw one day an Indian fighting with a mounted man, and the Indian gave the horse of his antagonist such a blow in the breast that he opened it to the entrails, and it fell dead on the spot. And the same day I saw another Indian give another horse a blow in the neck, that stretched it dead at his feet.
— "Offensive and Defensive Arms", page 23[27]
Another account byFrancisco de Aguilar reads:
They used ... cudgels and swords and a great many bows and arrows ... One Indian at a single stroke cut open the whole neck ofCristóbal de Olid's horse, killing the horse. The Indian on the other side slashed at the second horseman and the blow cut through the horse'spastern, whereupon this horse also fell dead. As soon as this sentry gave the alarm, they all ran out with their weapons to cut us off, following us with great fury, shooting arrows, spears and stones, and wounding us with their swords. Here many Spaniards fell, some dead and some wounded, and others without any injury who fainted away from fright.[28]
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Given the importance ofhuman sacrifice in Nahua cultures, their warfare styles, particularly those of the Aztec and Maya, placed a premium on the capture of enemy warriors for live sacrifice. Advancement into the elitecuāuhocēlōtl warrior societies of the Aztec, for example, required taking 20 live captives from the battlefield. The macuahuitl thus shows several features designed to make it a useful tool for capturing prisoners: fitting spaced instead of contiguous blades, as seen in many codex illustrations, would intentionally limit the wound depth from a single blow, and the heavy wooden construction allows weakened opponents to be easilyclubbed unconscious with the flat side of the weapon. The art of disabling opponents using an un-bladed macuahuitl as a sparring club was taught from a young age in the AztecTēlpochcalli schools.[29]
The macuahuitl had many drawbacks in combat versus European steel swords. Despite being sharper, prismatic obsidian is also considerably morebrittle than steel; obsidian blades of the type used on the macuahuitl tended to shatter on impact with other obsidian blades, steel swords orplate armour. Obsidian blades also have difficulty penetrating Europeanmail. The thin, replaceable blades used on the macuahuitl were easily dulled or chipped by repeated impacts on bone or wood, making artful use of the weapon critical. It takes more time to lift and swing a club than it does to thrust with a sword. More space is needed as well, so warriors advanced in loose formations and fought in single combat.[30]
Replicas of the macuahuitl have been produced and tested against sides of beef for documentary shows on theHistory andDiscovery channels, to demonstrate the effectiveness of this weapon. On the History showWarriors, special forces operator and martial artistTerry Schappert injured himself while fencing with a macuahuitl; he cut the back of his left leg as the result of a back-swing motion.[31]
ForSpikeTV's reality programDeadliest Warrior a replica was created and tested against a model of a horse's head created using a horse's skeleton andballistics gel. Actor and martial artistÉder Saúl López was able to decapitate the model, but it took three swings. Blows from the replica macuahuitl were most effective when it was swung and then dragged backwards upon impact, creating a sawing motion. This led Max Geiger, thecomputer programmer of the series, to refer to the weapon as "the obsidian chainsaw". This may have been due to the unrefined obsidian cutting edges of the weapon used in the show, compared with more finely madeprismatic obsidian blades, as in the Madrid specimen.[32]
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