WEBVTT - The Artifact: The Macuahuitl

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow Your Mind, focusing on particular objects, ideas, and

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<v Speaker 1>moments in time. Artifacts have long enabled human beings to

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<v Speaker 1>create for themselves the defensive and offensive features found naturally

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<v Speaker 1>elsewhere in the animal kingdom. We lacked the talent, but

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<v Speaker 1>invented the dagger, devised in our minds and created with

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<v Speaker 1>our hands. Weapons and armor of some sort can be

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<v Speaker 1>found everywhere humans spread throughout the world. In many cases,

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<v Speaker 1>the form and function of traditional weapons are much the same,

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<v Speaker 1>but there's still a huge variety in materials and form.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the more fascinating specimens of human weaponcraft is

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<v Speaker 1>the maqui eedle of Mesoamerica. In the Nawatto language, the

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<v Speaker 1>name means hand would, and it's served as a ferocious

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<v Speaker 1>weapon for various peoples of this region, including the Maya,

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<v Speaker 1>the Toltecs, and the Aztecs. The maquahedle may be described

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<v Speaker 1>in various ways, often comparing it to other tools and weapons.

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<v Speaker 1>As the name seems to imply, it is a handheld

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<v Speaker 1>length of shaped wood. Some seventy centimeters long a little

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<v Speaker 1>over two feet, It was wielded with two hands, though

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<v Speaker 1>a shorter variation also existed. The tendency here, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>is to compare the weapon to either a club or

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<v Speaker 1>a sword, and this was certainly the case when Spanish

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<v Speaker 1>forces first observed the maquahedle during the sixteenth century. But

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<v Speaker 1>this is a weapon of wood, not metal, unlike the

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<v Speaker 1>typical sword. Yet early Western commentators noted its exceptional cutting ability.

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<v Speaker 1>This due to the six to eight blades of obsidians

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<v Speaker 1>set into the weapon on two sides. As such, it

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<v Speaker 1>is easy to think of it as a toothed blade,

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<v Speaker 1>or is it a toothed club or mace? As pointed

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<v Speaker 1>out by Marco Antonio severa are Gone in his two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand and six paper the Maquahito, An Innovative Weapon of

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<v Speaker 1>the Late post Classic in Mesoamerica, published in Arms and Armor,

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<v Speaker 1>it is perhaps far more reasonable to consider it neither,

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<v Speaker 1>he writes quote. The maquahito cannot be called a club

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<v Speaker 1>since it did not fulfill a bruising function, and it

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<v Speaker 1>cannot be called a sword since the sword's characteristic functions

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<v Speaker 1>are to pierce and to cut. As such, Overgone argues

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<v Speaker 1>that the Maquahito is a uniquely Mesoamerican weapon with no

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<v Speaker 1>Western counterpart. He also points out that the origins of

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<v Speaker 1>the weapon are murky. There has been some confusion regarding

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<v Speaker 1>the classification of similar weapons, and there is both much

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<v Speaker 1>that was lost to the destruction brought by the Europeans

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<v Speaker 1>and much that remains archaeologically undiscovered. But it seems the

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<v Speaker 1>weapon emerged between the early and late Post Classic period

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<v Speaker 1>in central Mexico as a response to changing battlefield necessities.

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<v Speaker 1>Archaeological evidence of the weapon technology is scant, but the

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<v Speaker 1>best known original example of a maquehedal was destroyed in

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<v Speaker 1>a fire at the Royal Armory in Madrid, Spain, back

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<v Speaker 1>in eighteen forty nine. But based on accounts, artistic depictions

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<v Speaker 1>and recreations, it seems the weapon was indeed quite fearsome.

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<v Speaker 1>The sharpened blades were more than capable of slicing through

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<v Speaker 1>flesh and even fracturing bone, though the obsidian would have

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<v Speaker 1>broken on contact with the bone. Is Obregon points out

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<v Speaker 1>the shattering of the blade's edge in these instances would

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<v Speaker 1>have created micro flakes of obsidian that would have made

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<v Speaker 1>healing all the more difficult for the victim, but the

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<v Speaker 1>wooden form of the weapon would remain strong. While some

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<v Speaker 1>of the blades would break from impact, they would remain

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<v Speaker 1>set in the wood, and the maquehedral would remain a

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<v Speaker 1>viable weapon for the remainder of the bloody battle. Tune

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<v Speaker 1>in for additional editions of the artifact each week, hosted

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<v Speaker 1>by either Joe or myself. As always, you can email

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<v Speaker 1>us at contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production of I

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit

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