Indian Armor and Insignia

Four Aztec warriors from the Codex Mendoza
out of habit I aimed too high, and the arrowhead pierced the very
the top of his iron helmet without causing any harm to the Spaniard: he
just swayed in the saddle - and that's all. But even this very modest success
elevated me greatly in the eyes of the Aztecs. They were very poor archers, and
Moreover, an arrow had never been seen to penetrate Spanish armor.
Montezuma's Daughter. R. Haggard
History military costume. Shields and helmets of the Aztecs and Mayans - that's what the previous article was about, and today we will continue the topic of the military costume of the Mesoamerican Indians. Not only helmets and shields were the property of the warriors of this region, but also various overhead protective devices for the arms, legs and torso. Sleeve-like "armor" could be worn on the arms, and similar protection was used by ball players. It is possible that they were something similar to a cotton sleeve with leather strips sewn onto it. In any case, such protection was quite protective against blows from a cast rubber ball.
And here is how they looked in the description of B. de Las Casas, who reported:
Additional protection was provided by metal jewelry in the form of all kinds of gold bracelets, additionally decorated with jade and mother-of-pearl.

Aztec Eagle Warrior. Exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum Leiden in 2021
Another protective device was used, apparently, mainly by the Toltec Indians. It was a kind of pendant worn on the left arm, consisting of long thick cords. Perhaps they served as a kind of flexible protection for the spear thrower, similar to the way in which European fencing used a cloak wound around the arm.
The Aztecs also wore protective plates on their legs, which were made of leather and decorated with gold, silver and precious stones. In the Mixtec Codex, you can see greaves in the form of a jaguar's paw. They also used windings (which is not surprising if we remember what kind of prickly vegetation there is): wound in parallel rows or crossed. Naturally, bracelets made of metal and stone were also worn on the legs.
Among the gifts that the Spaniards received from the Chontal Indians, Las Casas mentions:
Breastplates were also known to the Indians. They had the form of plates: sometimes in the form of a stylized butterfly (Toltecs), a puma, a spiral, and a circle with a mask (Chichen Itza).

The most famous monument of the Aztec culture is the stone of the sun god Tonatiuh. It is located in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City and is the most famous work of their sculpture. It is a huge disk with a diameter of 3,58 meters, a thickness of 98 centimeters and a weight of about 24 tons. In the center of the disk is depicted the Aztec sun god Tonatiuh. Modern research suggests that it was carved between 1502 and 1521.
The most common type of protective clothing among the Aztecs was the ichkahuipilli jacket, which looked like a quilted shirt made of a thick layer of cotton fabric (1,5-2 fingers). In fact, it was the same Russian vatnik, the outer layer of which was soaked in a concentrated salt solution, and with ties on the back. It protected the warrior so well from blows from a club with obsidian blades, which became dull and broke on salt crystals, as well as from arrows, that the Spanish conquistadors quickly borrowed it from the Indians and described it as lighter and less hot than their own steel armor. This armor could be sleeveless or with very short sleeves. Diego de Landa wrote about the Yucatan Maya of the XNUMXth century:
Over the armor, warriors wore a tunic-type garment, the length of which was an indicator of the warrior's rank and social status. According to the Aztecs, it should be above the knees for commoners, and longer for those of higher rank. Although ordinary warriors were also allowed to wear long tunics, but only to hide traces of wounds and scars. Apparently, their open display was considered indecent in their society.
Very interesting were also the protective capes, similar to ponchos, which were made from agave fibers, then soaked in liquid maize dough and dried in the sun. Not only did they acquire a beautiful golden color, but they also hardened so much that they turned into a kind of armor. Although it was clearly not advisable to get caught in the rain in such a "shell"! However, the Indians knew the time of the rainy season well.

The Aztecs loved to dress up and decorate themselves, so men pierced their nose wings and lower lip in order to wear such an adornment as a labret. These adornments were made of jade, amber or rock crystal, as well as gold and had the shape of a tube up to five centimeters long and even figurines. For example, snake figurines. Or eagle heads... "Eagle Head" from the Metropolitan Museum, New York
A kind of overalls made of animal skin or a woven base trimmed with feathers, with a slit in the back for putting it on, were also used. Interestingly, Las Casas described how the Indians in Tabasco (Bay of Campeche) dressed the Spaniard Grijalva "from head to toe in armor of the purest gold, no less complete than the steel knightly armament of Milanese workmanship." But the author himself was not present, so it may well be just idle fiction.

This is how they wore a labret in the shape of a snake under the lip! Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
The Aztec and Mayan military symbols and insignia received by warriors for their heroic deeds were much richer. It should be noted that in their society, killing an enemy was not a heroic deed. The priests demanded that the enemy be captured alive in order to sacrifice him to the gods. Therefore, those who took prisoners were the first to receive awards and external insignia. Changing caste among the Aztecs and Mayans, as well as wearing clothes not belonging to one's caste, was prohibited. But even a commoner could achieve "known degrees" if he joined the army and took prisoners in battle.
At first, when joining the army, a young man had only a loincloth - maxtlatl, woven sandals and a short cloak - to cover himself with at night. They were taught not only combat skills and, like our recruits, were forced to "learn the stars", that is, they were taught to distinguish who had what rank and all the insignia due to him from special pictographic books. At the same time, the Indians had no shortage of imagination, so that warriors who captured 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 enemies all wore various and sometimes very different outfits.

Mayan Warrior. Producer: Silver Dream Studio and Alexandros Models
By the way, priests also fought and were rewarded with clothing no less bright than professional warriors. Thus, the one who captured two enemies received a white tlauiztli jacket with black decoration, a ritual accessory of the goddess Tlazoteotl. Three captives - and you could wear a green tlauiztli and a pamitl - a flag with red and white stripes, topped with a bunch of precious green quetzal feathers. The priest who was lucky enough to capture four prisoners received a very beautiful cuestecatl jacket with a pattern of white circles on a black background, which was supposed to symbolize the stars. Five captives gave the right to a red tlauiztli with a black decoration in the form of a large fan of macaw feathers, which was called momoyactli. Well, if the gods were merciful to you and you remained alive, having captured six enemies, then you had the right to a “coyote robe”, decorated with yellow or red feathers.
So even a commoner Masehuatl could quite easily achieve even the highest ranks, and all solely thanks to his military exploits.
The Aztecs also had special military clothing that was worn “out of formation” and which also indicated the rank and merits of its owner.

"Codex Mendoza", p.65. Warriors' clothing for everyday wear and showing how many prisoners each of them had taken, i.e. served the gods. Bodleian Library, Oxford University
In peacetime, ordinary warriors and their commanders wore a distinctive tilmatli cloak measuring 1,22-1,83 m, which was fastened with a buckle on the right shoulder and, falling freely along the body, covered the left hand and exposed the right. A commoner who fought in a battle and took one prisoner received a cloak decorated with flowers (it is unclear whether they were real or artificial, because real ones would have to be constantly changed!). Two prisoners were indicated by an orange tilmatli with a striped border. Well, then - the higher the rank and the more prisoners, the more complex and richer the patterns were on the cloak. Europeans compared similar fabrics from which these cloaks were sewn with the best European outfits made of silk.
Well, what significance did all these vestments have in the eyes of the Indians? weapons for the warriors, this speech of one of the Indian commanders, which has come down to our time and is recorded in the “History of the Indians of New Spain,” illustrates:
Note. When writing this material, I used an article by A. Shekhvatov (St. Petersburg) from the magazine "Parabellum" (No. 11, 2000). I found the article interesting, but overloaded with references and numerous footnotes, and therefore quite difficult for a non-specialist to read...
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