The ichcahuipilli, known in Spanish as ''escaupil'' was a Mesoamerican military soft body armor, similar to the European

gambeson A gambeson (also aketon, padded jack, pourpoint, or arming doublet) is a padded defensive jacket, worn as armour separately, or combined with mail or plate armour. Gambesons were produced with a sewing technique called quilting. They were usual ...

, which was commonly used by the

Aztecs The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

and the

Tlaxcalans The Tlaxcalans, or Tlaxcaltecs, are a Nahua people who live in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. Pre-Columbian history The Tlaxcaltecs were originally a conglomeration of three distinct ethnic groups who spoke Nahuatl, Otomi, and Pinome that compr ...

. It was constructed of densely packed, unspun cotton stitched between two layers of fabric. The name is derived from the

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

words ''ichcatl'' "cotton" and ''huīpīlli'' "

shirt A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. I ...

Use

Ichcahuipilli armor was a lightweight, multifunctional garment worn on the torso of the warrior, designed to provide blunt-force trauma protection against clubs and batons, slash protection from obsidian macuahuitl, and projectile protection from

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

s and atlatl darts. Ichcahuipilli were made of successive layers of packed cotton and cloth, at least one inch thick, and sewn in diamond-shaped patterns. Wearers usually wore the ichcahuipilli directly on their skin, however the most experienced warriors, especially those of the

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

and jaguar warriors, used it to complement a

tlahuiztli 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 Az ...

suit. Upon contact with a shot projectile, the dense fibrous materials of the vest would absorb the energy of the shot and dissipate it on a much larger area, stopping the bullet or arrow in the vest. Codex Mendoza folio 67r

Atlatl darts in particular were found to regularly penetrate European

chainmail Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...

. Ichcahuipilli were so effective at stopping arrows, darts, and even lead

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

shot,Phillips, Charles "The Complete Illustrated History of the Aztec & Maya: The Definitive Chronicle of the Ancient Peoples of Central America & Mexico - Including the Aztec, Maya, Olmec, Mixtec, Toltec & Zapotec" 2015. Spanish soldiers often discarded their own, heavier plate armor, which was uncomfortable in the warmer, moist

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

climate and prone to rust, in favor of indigenous armor which was lighter and comparatively maintenance-free.

Variations

Most ichcahuipilli were made in a vest style that covered the torso down to the hips, however various other designs were made and worn by Aztec soldiers of different ranks and warrior societies. The armor came in sleeved variations or in surcoat designs that covered most of a warrior's body down to the knees.

Popular culture

For SpikeTV's reality program

Deadliest Warrior ''Deadliest Warrior'' is an American television program in which information on historical or modern warriors and their weapons are used to determine which of them is the "deadliest" based upon tests performed during each episode. The show was c ...

, a piece of material designated as ichcahuipilli armor was tested against the iron-tipped arrows of the Azande pima and botto. The armor was able to stop the arrows and even ward off some of them. It was later determined that although the arrows penetrated the material, the arrows were stopped and penetration was minimal enough to not to cause any serious injury.

References

{{reflist Aztec clothing Mesoamerican clothing Body armor History of Tlaxcala

Use

Variations

Popular culture

See also

References