Description
Part 2: https://youtu.be/E-heFAo9puc
Finally I'm doing a deep dive into the Macuahuitl, one of the most intriguing weapons of history. In two parts, to not strain everyone's attention span too much at once... In part 1 here I'm looking at what it looked like (according to historical texts and paintings), how it was shaped, and what's important about its design. Part 2 is about how effective it was, based on historical accounts and practical tests.
By the way, it's NOT a "Macana". The Spanish conquistadors messed up that term.
Don't skip the outtakes at the end, you might find them amusing. ;)
*** Sources / Credits ***
Spanish sword, 1530-1550
https://www.patrimonionacional.es/real-armeria/espada-4
Sword of Hernán Cortés (reproduction)
https://www.surdoc.cl/registro/3-44039
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Macuahuitl_Nezahualcoyotl.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_Museum_of_Natural_History_-_Mexico_%26_Central_America_-_Aztec_weapons,_tools_and_other_objects_2_(Virtual_Natural_History_Museum).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Set_of_Mesoamerican_bronze_axes.JPG
https://www.karlssonandwickman.com/oceanic-art/0mok9bp4giep6wbav0gabhmzdt4nc0
Amazing knapping skill by Anthony Silva Soares (pressure flaking prismatic obsidian blades):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYHMtjaAwCQ
“The Impact of the Macana: A Theoretical Exploration of the Combat Effectiveness of War Clubs in the Guianas and Beyond” (2020) by Don Arp, Jr., PhD
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2020/11/JCA-Arp-final.pdf
“The macuahuitl: an innovative weapon of the Late Post-Classic in Mesoamerica” (2006) by Marco Antonio Cervera Obregon
https://woosterglobalhistory.org/LAcolonial/archive/files/23395812_33c717a7fb.pdf
Pre-1860 macana
https://www.cultura.gob.es/museodeamerica/en/coleccion/etnologia/macana-venezuela.html
https://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/cerro-de-las-navajas.html
Surviving (damaged) Macuahuitl at the Museo del Templo Mayor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macuahuitl
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=Florentine+Codex
https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/home/mexica-weaponry/1000
https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/artefacts/maquahuitl
https://www.palatinopress.com/the-art-of-the-duran-codex.html
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Macuahuitl_(DSC07972a).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maya_Jaina_Island_Warrior_Figure.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_Museum_of_Natural_History_-Mexico%26_Central_America_-_Aztec_weapons,tools_and_other_objects_2(Virtual_Natural_History_Museum).jpg
https://enciclopediagro.mx/cultura-general/ichcahuipilli/
https://combatarchaeology.org/the-rorby-swords/
https://www.khm.uio.no/english/collections/objects/a-dagger-ahead-of-its-time.html
https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lots/Antique-Fijian-or-Samoan-paddle-club/2189-antique_fijian-21.11.19-millea
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#skallagrim #history #historicalweapons #aztec #obsidian