Weapons & Warriors: Aztecs Warriors To Subdue or Not To Subdue

Art by Steven DeVon Jones

The Aztec economy was structured around a religious and militaristic society. The religion had a demand for human sacrifice. Since the war prisoner was a more valuable offering, the Aztec culture leaned heavily towards a militaristic culture. Every member of society was required to go through a basic military training once they reached a certain age. This not only helped keep the borders safe from invaders, it also swelled the number of members of the Aztec army.

The majority of the Aztec army were the common people with just enough training to be organized and deadly. Deadly, however, was not the goal of the army. The expansionist Aztec empire required prisoners for their rituals, so the only way to really get a promotion, was to capture your enemies as opposed to slaying them. This single purpose of the Aztec military made them unique from every military in the world. They conquered their enemies and forced them to provide sacrifices. If they did not hand over the prisoners, the Aztecs would just take them through raids.

Weapons & Warriors: The Tecpatl of the Aztec

When you hear about Aztecs, some people often think about human sacrifice. Nobody knows how many sacrifices the Aztecs made a year. There is some speculation, and some accuse Cortés of greatly exaggerating the stories about the human sacrifices. Some other explorers and conquistadors that encountered the Aztec people made no mention in their notes and books of human sacrifice. Archaeologists however have uncovered many things in the ruins that would support the belief that the Aztecs sacrificed humans.

The Jaguar and Eagle Warriors were a major component to this ritual. They did not perform the ritual, but they were the ones who supplied the victims. The tool that was used to cut the heart out of the sacrifice was called the Tecpatl. It is about seven to nine inches in length. The handle is usually carved stone or wood and the blade was a double edged piece of obsidian. This volcanic produced glass is not only very hard, it can be sharper than steel. The Aztecs collected tons of obsidian for making their weapons. The Tecpatl may have been extremely sharp, but obsidian was more susceptible to dulling or cracking after striking something.