A modern recreation of two ceremonial macuahuitl based on codices.
Type
Club
Place of origin
Mexico
Service history
In service
Formative stage to Post-Classic stage (900 BCE–AD 1570)
Used by
Mesoamerican civilizations, including Aztecs Indian auxiliaries of Spain[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
A macuahuitl ([maːˈkʷawit͡ɬ]) is a weapon, a wooden club with several embedded obsidian blades. The name is derived from the Nahuatl language and means "hand-wood".[2] 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, although specimens can be found in art dating to at least pre-classic times.[3] 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), Olmec, Maya, Mixtec, Toltec, and Tarascans.
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.
^Asselbergs (2014), p. 78.
^"The Fearsome Close-Quarter Combat Weapon of the Aztecs". ThoughtCo. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
^Ann Cyphers, Escultura Olmeca de San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan (Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropologicas, 2004), 145–146.
A macuahuitl ([maːˈkʷawit͡ɬ]) is a weapon, a wooden club with several embedded obsidian blades. The name is derived from the Nahuatl language and means...
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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...
tail likely terminated in an arrangement of spiked osteoderms known as a macuahuitl, which resembled an Aztec weapon of the same name. Osteoderms were present...
of weapons, including an atlatl, spears and daggers. The Aztec blades (macuahuitl) were made by setting obsidian within wood. Firestones were flung at enemies...
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Spaniards at every direction from their canoes or on the causeway with macuahuitl swords, spears, arrows, and stones thrown from slings. The fighting was...
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trauma protection against clubs and batons, slash protection from obsidian macuahuitl, and projectile protection from arrows and atlatl darts. Ichcahuipilli...
proportionally large skulls. The most distinctive trait of the group is their macuahuitl, named after the mesoamerican weapon of the same name. This trait is similar...
wood with the blade fashioned from inset obsidian, similar to the Aztec macuahuitl. Maya warriors wore body armour in the form of quilted cotton that had...
Aztec warriors led by an eagle knight, each holding a macuahuitl club. Florentine Codex, book IX, F, 5v. Manuscript written by Bernardino de Sahagún....
natives were reluctant to allow outsiders in on their fighting secrets. The macuahuitl is a wooden broadsword and club that was utilized by various Mesoamerican...
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