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Tepoztopilli
The ''tepoztopilli'' was a common front-line weapon of the Aztec military. The tepoztopilli was a pole-arm, and to judge from depictions in various Aztec codices it was roughly the height of a man, although historian John Pohl indicates that the weapon used between the 12th and 14th century was made in sizes from 3 feet to 7 feet in length. The wedge-shaped wooden head, about twice the length of the users' palm or shorter, was edged with razor-sharp obsidian blades which were deeply set in grooves carved into the head. They were cemented in place with bitumen or plant resin as an adhesive. This made the tepoztopilli vaguely similar to the ''macuahuitl'' or "macana", however it had a much smaller cutting edge and a longer handle. The greater length gave the weapon a superior reach, allowing the user to stand behind a line of more experienced warriors and then "shove or jab the weapon" into an adversary. Halfway between a halberd and a spear, the tepoztopilli was equally usef ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tepoztopilli Aztec Spear Armeria Real Collection In Madrid
The ''tepoztopilli'' was a common front-line weapon of the Aztec military. The tepoztopilli was a pole-arm, and to judge from depictions in various Aztec codices it was roughly the height of a man, although historian John Pohl indicates that the weapon used between the 12th and 14th century was made in sizes from 3 feet to 7 feet in length. The wedge-shaped wooden head, about twice the length of the users' palm or shorter, was edged with razor-sharp obsidian blades which were deeply set in grooves carved into the head. They were cemented in place with bitumen or plant resin as an adhesive. This made the tepoztopilli vaguely similar to the ''macuahuitl'' or "macana", however it had a much smaller cutting edge and a longer handle. The greater length gave the weapon a superior reach, allowing the user to stand behind a line of more experienced warriors and then "shove or jab the weapon" into an adversary. Halfway between a halberd and a spear, the tepoztopilli was equally useful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as bone, flint, obsidian, iron, steel, or bronze. The most common design for hunting or combat spears since ancient times has incorporated a metal spearhead shaped like a triangle, lozenge, or leaf. The heads of fishing spears usually feature barbs or serrated edges. The word '' spear'' comes from the Old English '' spere'', from the Proto-Germanic ''speri'', from a Proto-Indo-European root ''*sper-'' "spear, pole". Spears can be divided into two broad categories: those designed for thrusting as a melee weapon and those designed for throwing as a ranged weapon (usually referred to as javelins or darts). The spear has been used throughout human history both as a hunting and fishing tool and as a weapon. Along ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Obsidian
Obsidian () is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Obsidian is produced from felsic lava, rich in the lighter elements such as silicon, oxygen, aluminium, sodium, and potassium. It is commonly found within the margins of rhyolite, rhyolitic lava flows known as obsidian flows. These flows have a high content of silicon dioxide, silica, granting them a high viscosity. The high viscosity inhibits atomic diffusion, diffusion of atoms through the lava, which inhibits the first step (nucleation) in the formation of mineral crystals. Together with rapid cooling, this results in a natural glass forming from the lava. Obsidian is hard, Brittleness, brittle, and amorphous; it therefore Fracture (mineralogy)#Conchoidal fracture, fractures with sharp edges. In the past, it was used to manufacture cutting and piercing tools, and it has been used experimentally as surgic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macuahuitl
A macuahuitl () is a weapon, a wooden club 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. Obsidian 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. By the time of the Spanish conquest the macuahuitl was widely distributed in Mesoamerica. The weapon was used by different civilisations including the Aztec (Mexicas), Maya, Mixtec and Toltec. One example of this weapon survived the Conquest of the Aztec Empire; it was part of the Royal 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 medievalist Achille Jubinal in the 19th century. Description The maquahuitl ( n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aztec Warfare
Aztec warfare concerns the aspects associated with the militaristic conventions, forces, weaponry and strategic expansions conducted by the Late Postclassic Aztec civilizations of Mesoamerica, including particularly the military history of the Aztec Triple Alliance involving the city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Tlacopan and other allied polities of the central Mexican region. The Aztec armed forces were typically composed of a large number of commoners (''yāōquīzqueh'' , "those who have gone to war") who possessed only basic military training, and a smaller but still considerable number of professional warriors belonging to the nobility ('' pīpiltin'' ) and who were organized into warrior societies and ranked according to their achievements. The Aztec state was in the center on political expansion and dominance of and exaction of tribute from other city states, and warfare was the basic dynamic force in Aztec politics. Aztec society was also centered on warfare: every A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ancient Weapons
This is a list of historical pre-modern weapons grouped according to their uses, with rough classes set aside for very similar weapons. Some weapons may fit more than one category (e.g. the spear may be used either as a polearm or as a projectile), and the earliest gunpowder weapons which fit within the period are also included. Offensive weapons Melee weapons Hand or fist weapons and fans Single-handed weapons not resembling a straight dagger blade, usually wielded without wrist action; often protects the forearm. * Bagh nakha, tiger claws (Indian) * Brass knuckles, knuckle dusters (European) * Cestus, bladed cestus, caestus, myrmex, sfere (Mediterranean) * Deer Horn Knives (Chinese) * Emeici (Chinese) * Finger knife (African) * Gauntlet (European) * Indian parrying weapon * Japanese fan, iron fan * Katar, suwaiya (कटार) (Indian) * Korean fan, mubuchae (무부채), tempered birch fan * Larim fighting bracelet, nyepel (African) * Maduvu, buckhorn parrying stick, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Armoury Of Madrid
The Royal Armoury of Madrid or Real Armería de Madrid, is a collection that, among many other things, contains the personal arms of the Kings of Spain, and also houses military weapons, armours and diplomatic works of art like mixed tapestries, paintings and other works of art and trophies. Among the most notable parts of the collection are armor and full tools that Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Philip II used. It is considered, along with the Imperial Armory of Vienna, one of the best in the world. The decision to grant preferential treatment to the Armory dates back at least to the death of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, which occurred on 21 September 1558. Location The armory of the Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, had come, mostly, from Brussels to Spain via the port of Laredo, in September 1556, from where it went to Valladolid. At his death his weapons were scattered between Valladolid, the Monastery of Yuste, and possibly the Alcázar of Madrid. Former building This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernal Díaz Del Castillo
Bernal Díaz del Castillo ( 1492 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador, who participated as a soldier in the conquest of the Aztec Empire under Hernán Cortés and late in his life wrote an account of the events. As an experienced soldier of fortune, he had already participated in expeditions to Tierra Firme, Cuba, and to Yucatán before joining Cortés. In his later years he was an encomendero and governor in Guatemala where he wrote his memoirs called '' The True History of the Conquest of New Spain''. He began his account of the conquest almost thirty years after the events and later revised and expanded it in response to the biography published by Cortés's chaplain Francisco López de Gómara, which he considered to be largely inaccurate in that it did not give due recognition to the efforts and sacrifices of others in the Spanish expedition. Early life Bernal Díaz was born in the year 1492 in Medina del Campo, a prosperous commercial city in Castile. His pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, Oceania, Africa, and Asia, colonizing and opening trade routes. They brought much of the Americas under the dominion of Spain and Portugal. After arrival in the West Indies in 1492, the Spanish, usually led by hidalgos from the west and south of Spain, began building an American empire in the Caribbean using islands such as Hispaniola, Cuba, and Puerto Rico as bases. From 1519 to 1521, Hernán Cortés waged a campaign against the Aztec Empire, ruled by Moctezuma II. From the territories of the Aztec Empire, conquistadors expanded Spanish rule to northern Central America and parts of what is now the southern and western United States, and from Mexico sailing the Pacific Ocean to the Philippines. Other conquistadors took over the Inca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macana
The term macana, of Taíno origin, refers to various wooden weapons used by the various native cultures of Central and South America. The earliest meaning attributed to ''macana'' is a sword-like weapon made out of wood, but still sharp enough to be dangerous. The term is also sometimes applied to the similar Aztec weapon, which is studded with pieces of obsidian in order to create a blade, though some authorities distinguish this item by using the Nahuatl name . In the Andes, the Spanish conquistadors applied the term "macana" to the several blunt, mace-like weapons at the disposal of the Inca army's arsenal, particularly to the ''Chaska chuqui'' (lit. star spear) and the ''Chambi'' (mace) weapons which consisted of a wooden shaft with a heavy metal (copper or bronze) or stone object at the end. As its name suggests, the ''Chaska chuqui'' tip was in a star shape to maximize the potential to break bone. They were the most common weapon in the Inca arsenal, and it is possible tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halberd
A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The word ''halberd'' is cognate with the German word ''Hellebarde'', deriving from Middle High German ''halm'' (handle) and ''barte'' (battleaxe) joined to form ''helmbarte''. Troops that used the weapon were called halberdiers. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It always has a hook or thorn on the back side of the axe blade for grappling mounted combatants. It is very similar to certain forms of the voulge in design and usage. The halberd was usually 1.5 to 1.8 metres (5 to 6 feet) long. The word has also been used to describe a weapon of the Early Bronze Age in Western Europe. This consisted of a blade mounted on a pole at a right angle. History The halberd was inexpensive to produce and very versatile in battle. As the halberd was eventually refined, its point was mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Codex Mendoza Folio 67r Bottom
The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with handwritten contents. A codex, much like the modern book, is bound by stacking the pages and securing one set of edges by a variety of methods over the centuries, yet in a form analogous to modern bookbinding. Modern books are divided into paperback or softback and those bound with stiff boards, called hardbacks. Elaborate historical bindings are called treasure bindings. At least in the Western world, the main alternative to the paged codex format for a long document was the continuous scroll, which was the dominant form of document in the Ancient history, ancient world. Some codices are continuously folded like a concertina, in particular the Maya codices and Aztec codices, which are actually long sheets of paper or animal skin folded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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