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chapter 4 animals, cannibals, and the military The final component in the Teotihuacan trinity, joining the ruler and the lineages, was the military . While the ruler may seem elusive, and the ancestral bundles of the lineages all but vanished , evidence of a military presence at the city is extensive. Militaristic individuals populate the visual arts in large numbers, marching on painted walls near the city center and out in the more secluded apartment compounds. Likewise, warriors circle around the painted and stuccoed vases or boldly appear on the carved surfaces of Thin Orange ceramics. Teotihuacan’s censers consist of mold-made appliqués adhered to a conical core, and many of these appliqués have a military theme. Because the censers were probably used for more private household rituals, the decorations inform us that martial symbolism transcended the state to enter the individual conscience. Furthermore, material remains that resemble the painted military imagery have been recovered. Thus both art and archaeology indicate the expansive role played by the military in Teotihuacan society. Although the imagery depicts a great deal of diversity in military costume, strong threads of continuity equally typify this genre. One of the most visible and diagnostic traits of a warrior was a bundle of darts and an accompanying atlatl with which the combatant propelled the darts with an incredible deadly force (Figures 4.1 and 4.2). The business end of the darts clearly shows a chipped stone point hafted onto the shaft. Quite often a circular element, which may be a puff of cotton, marks the transition from stone to wood, and similar round balls decorate the fletched end of the dart. Binding the darts together is a piece of cloth or fur grasped in the warrior’s hand, allowing for a more easily carried package. The atlatl is invariably positioned in an active figure 4.1. Mural of a warrior carrying atlatl darts and a heart on a sacrificial blade, lower talud wall, Portico 3, White Patio, Atetelco, Teotihuacan. Drawing by Jenni Bongard after Villagra 1971:Figure 20. manner with the warrior’s index and middle fingers slipped through parallel holes in the device (Figure 4.2). Above the fingers a knot seems to attach decorations to the atlatl; these may consist of the trapeze-and-ray year sign, strips of paper, a small bit of fur, and a bunch of feathers. The way in which warriors hold their atlatls aloft and prominently display their darts conveys the importance of these weapons to their identity. Another crucial costume element of a Teotihuacan warrior is the mirror worn on his back. Although the preferred position was at the small of the back, artists sometimes shifted the device higher towards the shoulder so that the viewer could see costume elements that might be obscured by a more accurate placement. Called a tezcacuitlapilli by the later Aztecs, the mirror consisted of a small stone disk to which pieces of iron pyrite were attached in a mosaic.1 Two beautiful archaeological examples from the site of Chichen Itza attest that some mirrors had an outer rim of decorative stone mosaic; however, visual depictions indicate that feathers commonly ringed the Teotihuacan mirrors. An additional decorative touch might include a knot securing a swath of feathers to the mirror. Many of the other costume elements of the warriors are not restricted to the military. Brilliant sprays of feathers fall from their various headdresses and trail behind them. They wear sandals, shell or bead necklaces, large earflares, and short skirts with a loincloth, all clothing of a typical, if elite, Teotihuacan male. The main militaristic emblems tucked amongst this otherwise ordinary clothing are year signs, owl pectorals, and the ultimate warrior costume element, circular Tlaloc goggles. The goggles usually ring the human eye, but they were sometimes shoved up on the forehead in a style similar to modern goggle wearing. A final characteristic of Teotihuacan military uniforms is, nevertheless, the most interesting because it opens a window not only onto attire but also onto the conceptual underpinnings of warfare itself and the social organizational properties of the military. Teotihuacan warriors did not enter battle solely with protective armaments of the material sort: they wore spiritual armaments as well. A curious feature of the city’s military imagery is the incorporation of animal attributes in the costumes of most warriors . For instance, a plaque found in a ceramic workshop attached to the Ciudadela presents a spear-holding warrior who sports feathered...

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