The original weapons of the Indians of Mesoamerica were matched by the same original armor. The main means of defense were wicker chimalli shields, sometimes so strong that they withstood the hits of arrows from European crossbows. The shields were abundantly decorated with feathers, fur, and at the bottom they had a kind of curtain to protect the legs from strips of fabric or leather. Moreover, their patterns served not just for decoration, but again reflected the rank of the owner of one or another shield. The simplest headdresses were ordinary headbands, made of white cotton fabric, decorated with feathers. The helmets were made of wood, but they often looked like very strange cap-type headgear. It is difficult to say what they were and what they were made of.
Page 65 of the Codex of Mendoza, showing the differences in the clothing of the warriors depending on the number of prisoners taken. Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Zoomorphic helmets were very popular, that is, in the form of the heads of various animals, such as eagles, coyotes, jaguars and alligators. Moreover, they also helped in recognizing certain warriors and served as a kind of uniform. So, helmets made in the shape of an eagle's head were worn by eagle warriors, and jaguar heads were worn by jaguar warriors. Moreover, they were always arranged in such a way that the warrior's face was in the mouth of the animal, and his head, as it were, was clothed with his head on all sides. According to the beliefs of the Aztecs, in him he was one with him, and, of course, it was just scary to look at a person in such a helmet. And there were also known helmets in the form of the heads of demons and human skulls (atst. Tsitsimitl), which again served to intimidate. A kind of overalls with ties on the back served as clothing for these soldiers. For jaguar warriors, it was made from the skin of this animal, often with a tail. The heron warriors had a stuffed heron on their backs, and their entire "overalls" were trimmed with its feathers.
Jaguar warrior, fragment of wall painting, Olmec Shikalanka culture. Anthropological Museum in Mexico City.
The headdresses of the warriors of Mesoamerica are rather difficult to separate from the ritual and dance ones, since their magical component is obvious. They were decorated with a mosaic of semi-precious stones, and gold ornaments, bells and bells. Feathers of tropical birds were a must. Feathers of ducks, geese, quetzal birds, parrots, herons could be used. The ridge-shaped plumes of quetzal feathers (azt. Ketsapatsaktli) were especially popular. For example, it is known that the Aztec ruler Auitsotl preferred such a dress to everyone else. There were also more functional protective hats. For example, the Indians argued that the helmet of the god Whitsilopochtli is very similar to the Spanish iron helmet with a back. But they were often distinguished from the Spanish morions by simply huge plumes of feathers.
Instead of metal shells, the Aztecs and Mayans wore thick, quilted, sleeveless jackets - ichcauipilli. They looked like modern "soft type" body armor, but inside the quilted "squares" they contained salted cotton wool. Why such a strange filler? Here's why: blunt obsidian blades! After all, obsidian was the main cutting material for the Mayans and Aztecs. Salt crystals, apparently, destroyed the cutting edge, and dense, like felt, caked cotton wool, delayed the weapon itself and softened the blow. In any case, the Spanish soldiers of Cortez very soon noticed that these jackets are lighter than their steel cuirasses, and they protect just as well! That is, against Indian weapons, these clothes were quite an effective means of protection. Bracelets and wooden greaves were also used, and they were sometimes even reinforced with metal. And again, each warrior wore combat clothing that corresponded to the number of enemies he took prisoner.
Rights and obligations
Interestingly, the entire Aztec society revolved around war, military power and courage, which were given great importance. For the warriors who distinguished themselves in battles, special rituals were developed, and the warrior's merits were evaluated in direct proportion to the number of prisoners he brought. True, there were also subtleties here, which were taken into account without fail. For example, did it matter whether the prisoner was taken independently or with the help of comrades? If the young Aztec did not act alone, but was helped, then he was obliged to bring six captives at once. Only after that, the young man could enter the group of soldiers and receive all the rights of an adult man. But if a young man pulled with the capture of a prisoner, that is, showed cowardice, then his lot was a general shame: he was considered an "overgrown" and was forced to wear a children's hairstyle.
Samples of tribute paid to the Aztecs by the conquered tribes. The original of the Codex Mendoza. Bodleian Library, Oxford.
Well, if a prisoner was taken by a young man without outside help, he was taken to the palace of Montezuma, where he was honored to talk with the ruler himself, and received valuable gifts from him. The one, on whose account there were four or five prisoners, received the title of "leader" and "the right to the mat" (that is, he had the right to sit) in the "Eagle House" - at the meetings of "warriors-eagles". However, being the leader or commander of the Mayan or Aztec army was not at all easy. In addition to military skill, a military leader, for example, all the time he was one (then they chose another!) Had to limit himself in food, not know women and observe a lot of all sorts of taboos in order to ensure victory for his soldiers.
Euatl is a tunic trimmed with feathers. Anthropological Museum in Mexico City.
Usually a young man, when he was taken into the army, had only one loincloth, woven sandals on his feet and a homespun cloak, devoid of any coloring. Taking one prisoner, he received the right to a tilmatli military cloak, at first simple, and then (taking two prisoners) already embroidered with multi-colored feathers and also a decorated cap. The captive four people were given an outfit made of jaguar skin and a helmet in the shape of his head, and for a larger number of captives he received a dress made of quetzal bird feathers. The clothing of the "warrior-eagle" also consisted of an "eagle helmet", decorated with a bunch of long feathers, and various other adornments. In the manuscripts of the Aztecs, we constantly find images of such clothes that the defeated tribes presented to the Aztecs as tribute. Among all the other donations, they also mention the "golden helmet" with the beak of an eagle, covered with various gold embroidery, with a sultan of blue and long green feathers. " Such rich helmets were worn only on especially solemn occasions - on holidays or in battle. On ordinary days, this helmet was replaced with a bandage with tassels of eagle feathers. The commanders also had robes indicating their rank, so in battle the Indians easily distinguished who was who, like soldiers in the modern army, who have epaulettes for this.
A battle scene from the painting in Bonampak.
Local War Masters
The Aztecs and Mayans fought wars that were not similar to the wars of the Europeans. For example, they staged "chemical attacks" on the enemy, burning red pepper pods and poisonous plants on braziers, so that the smoke went downwind in his direction. They also signaled with the help of smoke, drumming, or even something like a heliograph - a solar telegraph, with mirrors made of polished pyrite.
The battles began by shouting threats and insults at each other, showing the enemy's ass and genitals - just to make him lose formation! Then arrows and stones were thrown at it, after which the warriors with light weapons gave way to warriors with clubs, axes and swords, who rushed at the enemy at a run, covering themselves with shields. The commanders at this time were behind and gave orders with whistles. False retreats and flanking envelopes were used. But in any case, at the same time, they tried with all their might not to kill, but to take prisoners: to stun, squeeze the throat, inflict painful, but not fatal wounds. Later, it turned out to be into the hands of the Spanish conquistadors, who, on the contrary, tried to kill their opponents. Indians of other tribes could not oppose anything to this tactic, it literally changed them. But the Spaniards, knowing that a pagan altar awaited them, fought with the courage of despair and killed everyone who approached them. Now the Aztecs themselves turned out to be morally unprepared for this form of warfare, and as a result they lost it to better armed, and, most importantly, psychologically differently minded Europeans. Well, when in the end there was no blood of the victims, then … for the Indians, the "end of the world" just came, and the white Christian god won in everything and forever. But he promises us something completely different, doesn't he ?!
Bell "Warrior-eagle". Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
Golden eagle warrior
Perhaps the most beautiful and historically valuable depiction of an eagle warrior is in our Hermitage. This gold jewelry is a large bell (5, 5 x 4, 1 centimeters) with a wide slit at the bottom. There is a ball of red copper inside it, so a melodic ringing is heard when shaken.
The upper part of the bell is made in the shape of a warrior's head in the helmet of an eagle warrior. His mouth is open, so that even his teeth are visible, his nose is long and straight, and his eyes are wide open. The forehead has clearly defined superciliary arches, above which the hair is visible in the form of a relief plait with notches; in the ears - disc-shaped earrings. On the chest of the eagle warrior is some kind of decoration covered with winding lines. The helmet, as already noted, is made with an open crooked beak, and the warrior's face looks outward between his jaws. Above the beak, the eyes and even feathers of an eagle are shown, and here there are also two rings for a cord (or chain) to be worn on the chest.
Around the helmet is a flat, rectangular frame with slits, depicting a magnificent plume of feathers, with which such helmets were usually decorated. Tufts of feathers go down to half of the body, and a small decoration, also made of feathers in the form of a wing, departs from the left downward. The warrior's right arm is shown bent at the elbow and raised up. In his hand is a small wand with a bunch of feathers. The warrior has three darts in his left hand, and a small shield is visible on the wrist, decorated with feathers along the edges.
This piece has been cast using the “lost wax mold” technique from high quality yellow gold. After casting, it was smoothed out, in some places it was modified with a cutter and sanded. Interestingly, the ancient master clearly used ordinary threads, which he dipped in hot wax and bent while it was still not frozen, which gives the full impression of a filigree execution technique.
