Jaguar warrior

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The formal education of the Aztecs was to train and teach young boys how to function in their society as warriors. The Aztecs had no standing army, so every boy not of noble birth was trained to become a warrior. All boys who were between the ages of 10 and 20 years old would attend one of the two schools. These two schools were the Telpochcalli (the neighborhood school for commoners) and the Calmecac, the exclusive school for nobles.{{Cite journal|last=Anawalt|first=Patricia|title=Costume and Control: Aztec Sumptuary Laws|journal=Archeology|volume=33|issue=1|pages=34|jstor=41726816|year=1980}} At the Telpochcalli students would learn the art of warfare, and would become warriors. At the Calmecac students would be trained to become military leaders, priests, government officials, etc.

At the age of 15, sons of commoners would be sent to a Telpochcalli within their neighborhood. Here, boys would be trained in the art of warfare and accustomed to military life. The instructors at these schools were veteran warriors who had experience in warfare and leadership. The schools focused on bravery and included a great deal of physical effort and intense pain to increase the strength and stamina of the students. Manual labor included transporting goods such as branches for firewood. The longer the student had attended the school, the more branches he would be expected to carry. This test of carrying firewood would be used to determine if the boy would do well in warfare.

Other manual labor tasks carried out from the Telpochcalli would be community projects. These projects would mainly consist of cleaning areas, building walls, digging canals, and farming. From these projects, students would work hard to complete tasks, and gain the physical experience needed to engage in warfare. The students of this school would also be used to transport shields, food, military supplies, weapons, armor, and wood to warriors on the battlefield. The reason for forcing the students to be near the battlefield was to make them fearless of warfare. Students were under heavy surveillance at all times. If a student was caught leaving training his punishment would be severe. Often, he would be beaten and his hair removed. Removing a student's hair would remove any sign of that boy's being a warrior. Drinking pulque was prohibited; if caught, the student could be beaten to death. Relationships outside of the school were also prohibited; if a student was caught sleeping with a woman, he would be beaten to death, or severely punished.{{Cite book |last=Townsend |first=Camilla |title=Fifth sun: a new history of the Aztecs |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-067306-2 |location=New York, NY}}

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File:Relieve de Cacamatzin (Contreras).jpg depicting Cacamatzin as a jaguar warrior]]

Following the warrior's path was one of the few ways to change one's social status in Aztec culture. Eagle and Jaguar warriors were full-time warriors who worked for the city-state to protect merchants and the city itself. They were expected to be leaders and commanders both on and off the battlefield and acted as sort of a police force for the city. Men who reached this rank were considered as nobles and elites of society and were granted many of the same privileges as a noble. They were allowed to drink pulque, have concubines, and dine at the royal palace. Jaguar warriors also participated in gladiatorial sacrifices.

The weapons used by Aztec warriors can be divided into two main categories: Offensive and Defensive. As the names imply, depending on the objective, a different weapon was used. For example, some of the offensive weapons include bows and arrows, darts and atlatls, spears, slings, swords, and clubs. On the other hand, defensive weapons included shields, helmets,  and various types of body armor.{{Cite book |last=Hassig |first=Ross |title=Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control |publisher=Univ of Oklahoma Pr; First Edition |year=January 1, 1988 |isbn=0806121211 |pages=95}} With regards to weapons used by Aztec warriors, military experience and social status played a significant role in determining an Aztec warrior’s weapon arsenal and military uniform used in battle.{{Cite journal |last=Aladić |first=Dubravko |date=2012 |title=Carnival: Journal of the International Students of History Association |url=https://ishainternational.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/carnival-2012-final.pdf |journal=International Students of History Association |volume=XIV |pages=:35}} Greater military experience and higher social status an Aztec warrior accumulated, the more sophisticated their options for weaponry and military clothing became. At the most basic warrior level, all warriors were trained to use a sling to launch projectiles (often rocks or stones) and a bow.Moreover blunt weapons such as clubs and axes commonly made out of wood and stone were used by warriors when having to engage in close hand-to-hand combat.As previously mentioned, the Jaguar warriors were permitted to use the spear known as the atlat. This particular weapon demanded immense amounts of skill of practice in order to master atlat

See also

• Aztec warfare
• Jaguars in Mesoamerican culture

{{reflist}}

• Carrasco, David. Daily Life of The Aztecs: People of the Sun and Earth. Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1998.
• Carrasco, D. 1998, 200.
• Sahagun, Bernardino de. Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain. Translated and edited by Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble. 13 vols. Santa Fe: School of American Research, and University of Utah, 1950-1982.
• Sahagun, Florentine Codex, VIII: 52.
• Smith, Michael E. The Aztecs. 3rd Ed. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing, 2012.
• Smith, M. 2012, 130.
• Smith, M. 2012, 162.
• Smith, M. 2012, 173-174.

{{Social class}}

Category:Soldiers

Category:Aztec warfare

Category:Military units and formations of the early modern period

Category:Military units and formations of the Middle Ages

Category:Warriors