Macuahuitl
Sign in to saveA macuahuitl is a Mesoamerican weapon consisting of a wooden sword with several embedded obsidian blades. The name is derived from the Nahuatl language and means "hand-wood". Its sides are embedded with prismatic blades traditionally made from obsidian, which is capable of producing an edge sharper than high quality steel razor blades. The macuahuitl was a standard close combat weapon.
Key facts
- Weapon.name
- Macuahuitl
- Weapon.image
- Macuahuitl (DSC07972a).jpg
- Weapon.caption
- A modern recreation of two ceremonial macuahuitl based on codices.
- Weapon.origin
- Mexico
- Weapon.type
- Sword
- Weapon.is_bladed
- yes
- Weapon.service
- Formative stage to Post-Classic stage (1000 BCE–AD 1570)
- Weapon.used_by
- Mesoamerican civilizations, including AztecsIndian auxiliaries of Spain
- Weapon.wars
- Aztec expansionism, Mesoamerican warsSpanish conquest of the Aztec Empire
- Weapon.blade_type
- Straight, thick, double-edged, tapered
- Weapon.hilt_type
- Double-handed swept
- Weapon.sheath_type
- Unknown
- Weapon.head_type
- Trapezoidal
- Weapon.haft_type
- Straight, wood covered by leather
via Wikipedia infobox
~11 min read
Encyclopedic overview
11 sectionsContents
- Description
- Typology
- Specimens
- Origins and distribution
- Effectiveness
- Experimental archaeology
- See also
- References
- Footnotes
- Sources
- External links
A macuahuitl is a Mesoamerican weapon consisting of a wooden sword with several embedded obsidian blades. The name is derived from the Nahuatl language and means "hand-wood". Its sides are embedded with prismatic blades traditionally made 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 least pre-classic times. By the time of the Spanish conquest, the macuahuitl was widely distributed in Mesoamerica. The weapon was used by different civilizations, including the Aztec (Mexicas), Olmec, Maya, Mixtec, Toltec, and Tarascans.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Macuahuitl” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.