Edit | Leave a Comment | Favorite
User Comments:
Anonymous commented at 2012-10-11 05:03:51 » #1179021
The maquahuitl was a type of Aztec sword made of wood, with prismatic blades of obsidian embedded in its sides. According to accounts from Spanish conquistadors, the maquahuitl was sharp enough to decapitate a horse in a single stroke. Aztec warriors would kill Spanish mounts and use the flat sides of the sword to bludgeon their riders unconscious for capture and/or sacrifice.
~The More You Know~
25 Points Flag
The maquahuitl was a type of Aztec sword made of wood, with prismatic blades of obsidian embedded in its sides. According to accounts from Spanish conquistadors, the maquahuitl was sharp enough to decapitate a horse in a single stroke. Aztec warriors would kill Spanish mounts and use the flat sides of the sword to bludgeon their riders unconscious for capture and/or sacrifice.
~The More You Know~
25 Points Flag
Anonymous commented at 2015-03-26 10:37:40 » #1711014
Guys, it couldn't decapitate a horse or human, that was just tall tales... The obsidian shards hard a tendency to break off and often became lodged in the victims.
While it lacks the brute chopping power of a steel blade, it does hurt like hell and is tough to survive, as wounds could easily become infected and removal of the obsidian could be tricky, the shards themselves fragile yet dense and sharp enough that trying to simply pull them out could break them into yet-smaller and sharper pieces.
It's a truly brutal (if ineffective in long conflicts) weapon.
2 Points Flag
Guys, it couldn't decapitate a horse or human, that was just tall tales... The obsidian shards hard a tendency to break off and often became lodged in the victims.
While it lacks the brute chopping power of a steel blade, it does hurt like hell and is tough to survive, as wounds could easily become infected and removal of the obsidian could be tricky, the shards themselves fragile yet dense and sharp enough that trying to simply pull them out could break them into yet-smaller and sharper pieces.
It's a truly brutal (if ineffective in long conflicts) weapon.
2 Points Flag
1