page_title: Tepoztopilli
hierarchical_section_title: Tepoztopilli
caption_attribution_description: English: Aztec warriors. Six differing levels of military achievement are depicted in Codex Mendoza for young men who are destined to become priests. The first is a novice who has had made one capture. He wears a simple ichcahuipilli or quilted armour jacket. Those who had made two captures were awarded a white feather ornamented tlahuiztli, a tightly fitting body suit. A third capture entitled the warrior-priest to a wear a green tlahuiztli. A fourth capture entitles a priest to wear a remarkable black and white conical hat adopted from the Huaxtec people of Veracruz. The white dots and swirl on his shield signify a constellation of stars. Five captures entitles the warrior to carry a special shield ornamented with an eagle's foot while the highest ranking soldiers were awarded a yellow tlahuiztli and a helmet carved in the shape of a mountain lion.
context_page_description: The tepoztopilli was a common front-line weapon of the Aztec military. The tepoztopilli was a pole-arm, and to judge from depictions in various Aztec codices it was roughly the height of a man, although historian John Pohl indicates that the weapon used between the 12th and 14th century was made in sizes from 3 feet to 7 feet in length. The wedge-shaped wooden head, about twice the length of the users' palm or shorter, was edged with razor-sharp obsidian blades which were deeply set in grooves carved into the head. They were cemented in place with bitumen or plant resin as an adhesive. This made the tepoztopilli vaguely similar to the macuahuitl or "macana", however it had a much smaller cutting edge and a longer handle. The greater length gave the weapon a superior reach, allowing the user to stand behind a line of more experienced warriors and then "shove or jab the weapon" into an adversary.
  Halfway between a halberd and a spear, the tepoztopilli was equally useful for slashing and thrusting. Conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo mentions that on one occasion his armour was pierced by an Aztec lance and that only his thick cotton underpadding saved his life.
context_section_description: The tepoztopilli [tepostoːˈpiːlːi] was a common front-line weapon of the Aztec military. The tepoztopilli was a pole-arm, and to judge from depictions in various Aztec codices it was roughly the height of a man, although historian John Pohl indicates that the weapon used between the 12th and 14th century was made in sizes from 3 feet to 7 feet in length. The wedge-shaped wooden head, about twice the length of the users' palm or shorter, was edged with razor-sharp obsidian blades which were deeply set in grooves carved into the head. They were cemented in place with bitumen or plant resin as an adhesive. This made the tepoztopilli vaguely similar to the macuahuitl or "macana", however it had a much smaller cutting edge and a longer handle.  The greater length gave the weapon a superior reach, allowing the user to stand behind a line of more experienced warriors and then "shove or jab the weapon" into an adversary.  
  Halfway between a halberd and a spear,  the tepoztopilli was equally useful for slashing and thrusting. Conquistador Bernal Díaz del Castillo mentions that on one occasion his armour was pierced by an Aztec lance and that only his thick cotton underpadding saved his life. 
  The last authentic tepoztopilli was destroyed in a fire in 1884 in the Armería Real in Madrid where it was housed.
caption: A page from the Codex Mendoza depicting Aztec warriors each wielding a tepoztopilli
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