warrior

warrior

This is a male indigenous warrior, with a shield in his right hand and a spear in his left. The shield has a classic Mesoamerican stepped fret design used on shields and other objects of material culture across time and regions. He also wears a loincloth (the ends hang down below his tunic). The tunic has a weave that is reminiscent of some of the glyphic representations of tribute cloth used on some of the various parts of this codex. The warrior also wears sandals, such as those mentioned in the tribute requirements for the soldiers. [SW] [See the Mexicolore web page about chimalli, the pre-Hispanic central Mexican shield, http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/artefacts/chimalli. The Wikipedia entry for Xicalcoliuhqui offers further discussion and illustrations of the stepped-fret design. For a discussion about the spear, see https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/ask-us/did-the-aztecs-use-metal-spears.]