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Aztec Weapons

All about Aztec weaponry!

The weapons the Aztecs used were not only advanced, but extremely effective in their battles. The most common Aztec weapon was the maquahuitl, a long club like weapon made of wood and flanked on the side with sharpened pieces of obsidian. Spanish explorers said that one blow from this weapon would chop the head off a horse. That's pretty sharp! They also had two types of maquahuitl, a one handed and two handed version. The one handed one was similar to a sword, and the two handed version was significantly larger. Either way, the Aztec weapon was a killer. They also used clubs, slings, bows and arrows, and spears. The spears and lances they used weren't like the conventional ones we know of today. The head of them were approximately a foot wide, made of small super sharp stones known to have pierced the Spanish armor. They used slings with such accuracy that they were often known to be able to sling their specially polished and formed rocks farther than they could throw their spears!

Ancient Aztec weapons certainly gave the Spanish a run for their money, but were almost no match to the guns and cannons the Spanish brought to destroy them. The Aztecs also made sacrificial weapons. The knife that was used to remove the heart of a human sacrifice was made of flint. It was extremely sharp and they say that if done correctly, the sacrifice would feel no pain. There were also other sacrificial weapons, used for everything from flaying the sacrifice to beheading them.