Fig. 60.—Detail from the relief in the great tlaxtli-court at Chichen Itza.
(After Seler)
The question of war and weapons is particularly interesting from archæological and ethnological points of view. Taken as a whole the monuments show few traces of military activity, and at some sites, notably Copan, Quirigua and Palenque, armed figures are not seen at all, for the axe which appears at the two latter sites is obviously a purely ceremonial object. To omit Yucatan for the moment, it is worthy of notice that reliefs suggesting the figures of warriors are practically only found in the northern portion of the region over which the earlier remains extend, viz. at Piedras Negras, Menché, Naranjo and Tikal. The suggestion is conveyed by the presence of one or more bound figures subsidiary to the main personage represented upon the sculpture, or by the fact that the latter stands upon a crouching figure of distinctly different, and far lower, type of physiognomy. Tikal may almost be omitted from the above list, since only one such relief occurs, and it resembles rather the sculptures of Menché than the archaic stelæ which appear to be more characteristic of the site. It is not absolutely certain, moreover, that the crouching figures which serve as supporters represent actual prisoners, since in some cases the main figure is shown with attributes which are of a purely ceremonial nature; still the arrangement is suggestive, and it is worthy of notice that by far the largest number of such stelæ is found at Naranjo. Where the main figure is shown with a weapon, that weapon is almost invariably a spear with a head of flaked stone. Such spears are always rather elaborate and ornamental in form, and in some cases it is difficult to distinguish them from a ceremonial staff. As stated above, I do not think that the ceremonial axe can fairly be considered a weapon, but one “axe” is shown in the hands of a figure at Menché (stela II), which seems to answer to the description of the “swords” seen by Columbus in Ruatan. The latter consisted of an edging of stone flakes set in a groove in a wooden haft, and secured by lashing of fish intestines. Shields are shown at most sites, and conform in the main to two types, square and round (or four-sided with gently rounded corners). Square shields are seen at Piedras Negras, the other pattern at Menché, Copan, Quirigua, and Naranjo, though at the last-named site one rectangular shield occurs. At Piedras Negras and Menché figures are found carrying objects which I take to be long shields of some pliable material, and these are paralleled in the reliefs on the ball-court at Chichen Itza (Fig. [60]). It is worthy of note that both Diaz and Diego de Godoi mention long shields, covering most of the body, which could be folded or rolled up and carried under the arm when not required, as in use among the tribes of Chiapas. The shields of the rounded type nearly always bear on the field a highly ornamental sun-face (Fig. [82]; p. 344). It should be observed that neither bows, arrows, spear-throwers nor, apparently, slings are figured on the monuments of the central region. On the whole it seems fair to conclude that the early Maya were men of peace, and that wars, when they occurred, were with the border tribes rather than among themselves; it should be mentioned that one representation of bound prisoners is found at Ixkun. When we come to consider Yucatan, we find that reliefs showing figures are practically absent except at Chichen Itza, and there they occur only on buildings ornamented in a distinctly later style, and accompanied by glyphs of a non-Maya character. In the famous relief on the ball-court (Fig. [60]) is a long series of figures carrying a variety of weapons, chiefly spears of the type mentioned above, wooden lances with a single or double row of barbs, apparently cut from the solid, sheaves of light throwing-spears with stone heads and, seemingly, feathered butts, and spear-throwers of wood ornamented with feathers. Light bucklers of a circular pattern, and long pliable shields of the type mentioned before, both occur, but bows are absent. Other forms of defensive armour seem to be lacking on the whole, but there is one figure shown with a turtle-shell worn as a corslet. This may have some mythological significance, but it is worth recording in this connection that Diaz mentions turtle-carapaces used as shields at Ayagualulco, to the west of the river Tabasco. Many of the figures wear a flat circular object fastened to the girdle at the hip; this may possibly be the leather pad worn in the ball-game, as described on p. 166, but more likely it corresponds to the circular ornament which formed part of the military uniform of the Huaxtec warriors. Now spear-throwers and darts appear on the Dresden codex, but the absence, on the earlier monuments, of anything remotely resembling either a spear-thrower or a spear which could be hurled, seems to suggest that their builders were ignorant of missile weapons. Chichen Itza, of which the late buildings are, to anticipate, in Toltec style, was intimately associated with the Tutul Xiu, and we are told that the spear-thrower was their principal weapon. Further, Landa makes the statement that bows and arrows, which were universal in Yucatan at the conquest, were introduced there by the Mexicans, and that the Yucatec before they came into contact with the latter were ignorant of these weapons. It may be conjectured that their introduction was due to the Mexican mercenaries employed by the later rulers of Mayapan. To turn for the moment to the Quiché and Kakchiquel, we find that “arrows” were employed by the former in their wars with the surrounding tribes shortly after the death of the original leaders, but it is possible that these may in reality have been throwing-spears. With regard to the Kakchiquel the case is different; this people are always, in the Annals of Xahila, insisting upon their status as a warrior tribe, and it is stated definitely that the only riches which their fighting-men bore with them from Tulan were their bows, their bucklers and their rounded shields. Now both the Tutul Xiu and the Quiché traced their origin from Tulan also, and if this be taken to indicate some early contact with the Mexican valley, it follows that the Tutul Xiu migration started before the introduction of the bow into the valley by the Chichimec, while that of the Quiché and Kakchiquel occurred subsequently. However, as stated above, the Tulan of the Tutul Xiu tradition is not necessarily that of the Quiché and Kakchiquel legends (see pp. 214–216).
According to Landa the bows of the historical Yucatec were solid and straight, a little less than a man’s height, while the arrows, carried in a quiver, had shafts of reed, foreshafts of wood and obsidian heads; the Yucatec also carried stone-headed spears, copper-bladed axes, the edges of which were hardened by hammering, and basket-work shields covered with deer-hide. The spear remained the weapon of the upper class, while the bow, as the arm of the mercenary, was used by the commoners. Corslets, quilted with cotton and salt, are mentioned as defensive armour, and Diaz speaks of slings and “swords” (probably corresponding to the Mexican macquauitl) at Cape Cotoche and Champoton respectively. The Maya forces were under the command of two generals, one elected for three years and called Nacon (see p. 259), the other hereditary. The generals maintained a force of regular soldiers, whose food in times of peace was provided by the commune. Palisades were practically the only defensive works known, and in fact very few of the buildings throughout the Maya country, with the exception of a few in western Guatemala, where traces of fortifications are seen on the summits of mountains, seem adapted for defensive purposes. The Yucatec carried off the jaw-bones of slain foes to be worn as armlets, a custom also found in New Guinea. Axes and clubs were used by the Quiché and Kakchiquel, and the latter also employed slings and blow-guns. In later Guatemala mention is made by Alvarado of long wadded corslets of cotton, three fingers thick and so cumbrous that, when the wearers fell in attempting to escape from the Spanish attack, they could not rise without assistance. A peculiar weapon mentioned in the Popol Vuh, as used by the Quiché in the defence of a fortress, consisted of a kind of bomb, formed of a gourd filled with live hornets; it is stated that by means of this ingenious weapon they succeeded in repelling an attack upon a fortified settlement. A good description of a fight between the Quiché and the Kakchiquel is given in the “Annals.” “When the dawn appeared, the Quiché descended from the hills, the cries and the shouts of war broke forth, the banners were displayed. Then were heard the drums, the trumpets and the conches of the combatants. Truly this descent of the Quiché was terrible. They advanced rapidly in rank, and one might see afar off their bands following one another descending the mountain. They soon reached the bank of the river, the houses by the water. They were followed by the chiefs Tepepul and Iztayul, accompanying the god. Then it was that the battalions met. Truly the encounter was terrible. The cries and the shouts, the noise of the drums, the trumpets and the conches resounded, mingled with the enchantments of the heroes. The Quiché were routed in all directions, not one resisted, they were put to flight and delivered over to death and no one could count their slain. A great number of them were taken prisoner, together with the kings Tepepul and Iztayul, who delivered up their god.” The capture of a god was evidently a feat much to be desired, as we have seen when treating of the Mexicans (p. 56), and there are passages in the Popol Vuh which relate the attempts made by other tribes to capture the deities of the Quiché. Both the Quiché and Kakchiquel seem to have been in the habit of executing prisoners by the arrow-sacrifice, and the Yucatec also offered up captives of rank, reducing those of lower status to slavery. Apart from the attempts at capturing the enemy’s god, war did not have nearly so close a connection with religion as in Mexico, at least as far as can be ascertained. Most of the wars concerning which traditions have been preserved either were dynastic or resulted from the refusal on the part of a subject tribe to pay tribute.
CHAPTER XII—THE MAYA: DRESS, DAILY LIFE AND CRAFTS
The historical Maya were of fair height and sturdy, qualities which appear also upon the monuments. A peculiar appearance was given to the head by the practice of cranial deformation which prevailed from the earliest times. Boards were applied to the heads of infants so that the forehead and occiput were flattened, and the crown assumed in profile a “sugar-loaf” aspect. Individuals exhibiting this form of distortion in a marked degree are shown in Figs. [49], [61], [82], and Pls. [XXII] and [XXIV], pp. 294 and 310. Cranial deformation is relatively common in America, and the practice extended northwards along the west coast, and southwards into Peru, but the Maya were peculiar in considering a squint a mark of beauty. Landa states that the Yucatec mothers were accustomed to suspend some small object from the forelock of a child in order to produce the desired result. We have seen that tooth-chipping was characteristic of the Huaxtec, Totonac and Mixtec in Mexico, and that the Huaxtec and Mixtec were also accustomed to ornament the teeth further by means of inlay. Both these practices were widespread among the Maya. Allusion has already been made to the chipped teeth which appear as attributes of the sun-god (see Fig. [72]; p. 316, and the cover-design), and it may now be mentioned that teeth mutilated in exactly the same fashion have been found in burials at Copan, in the Uloa valley, and in caves at Loltun. Teeth inlaid with small circular plugs of jadeite have also been found at the first of these sites. Tooth-filing was also practised by the later Yucatec, by rubbing with a stone dipped in water. The ears and nose were pierced and ornaments worn in the apertures. Plugs with long pendants were carried in the ears, and the monuments and manuscripts show figures with the lobes considerably lengthened by the weight of the ornaments inserted in them (e.g. Pl. [XXII]; p. 294). In the nose a bar was worn, of the same pattern as is occasionally seen in Totonac pottery (Pl. [XVIII, 5]; p. 194). Sometimes the bar terminated each end in a long tuft of feathers, as among the Huaxtec, and ornaments of this description are common on the stelæ at Menché. The peculiar curved nose-ornament associated with the sun-god has already been mentioned. As a rule the ears of the men were much scarified from ceremonial blood-letting.
PLATE XXII
British Museum