Macuahuitl

A macuahuitl (maːˈkwawit͡ɬ) is a weapon, a wooden club with several embedded obsidian blades. The name is derived from the Nahuatl language and means "hand-wood". Its sides are embedded with prismatic blades traditionally made from obsidian. Obsidian is capable of producing an edge sharper than high quality steel razor blades. The macuahuitl was a standard close combat weapon. Use of the macuahuitl as a weapon is attested from the first millennium CE, although specimens can be found in art dating to at least pre-classic times. By the time of the Spanish conquest the macuahuitl was widely distributed in Mesoamerica. The weapon was used by different civilisations including the Aztec (Mexicas), Olmec, Maya, Mixtec, Toltec, and Tarascans. One example of this weapon survived the Conquest of the Aztec Empire; it was part of the Royal Armoury of Madrid until it was destroyed by a fire in 1884. Images of the original designs survive in diverse catalogues. The oldest replica is the macuahuitl created by the medievalist Achille Jubinal in the 19th century. The maquahuitl (māccuahuitl, other orthographic variants include mākkwawitl and mācquahuitl; plural māccuahuimeh), a type of macana, was a common weapon used by the Aztec military forces and other cultures of central Mexico. It was noted during the 16th-century Spanish conquest of the region. Other military equipment recorded includes the round shield (chīmalli, t͡ʃiˈmalːi), the bow (tlahuītōlli, t͡ɬaʔwiːˈtoːlːi), and the spear-thrower (ahtlatl, ˈaʔt͡ɬat͡ɬ). Its sides are embedded with prismatic blades traditionally made from obsidian (volcanic glass); obsidian is capable of producing an edge sharper than high-quality steel razor blades. It was capable of inflicting serious lacerations from the rows of obsidian blades embedded in its sides. These could be knapped into blades or spikes, or into a circular design that looked like scales. The macuahuitl is not specifically a sword or a club, although it approximates a European broadsword. Historian John Pohl defines the weapon as a "kind of a saw sword".