Page:Mexican Archæology.djvu/352

292 of reed, foreshafts of wood and obsidian heads; the Yucatec also carried stone-headed spears, copper-bladed axes, the edges of which were hardened by hammering, and basket-work shields covered with deer-hide. The spear remained the weapon of the upper class, while the bow, as the arm of the mercenary, was used by the commoners. Corslets, quilted with cotton and salt, are mentioned as defensive armour, and Diaz speaks of slings and "swords" (probably corresponding to the Mexican macquauitl) at Cape Cotoche and Champoton respectively. The Maya forces were under the command of two generals, one elected for three years and called Nacon (see p. 259), the other hereditary. The generals maintained a force of regular soldiers, whose food in times of peace was provided by the commune. Pallisades were practically the only defensive works known, and in fact very few of the buildings throughout the Maya country, with the exception of a few in western Guatemala, where traces of fortifications are seen on the summits of mountains, seem adapted for defensive purposes. The Yucatec carried off the jaw-bones of slain foes to be worn as armlets, a custom also found in New Guinea. Axes and clubs were used by the Quiché and Kakchiquel, and the latter also employed slings and blow-guns. In later Guatemala mention is made by Alvarado of long wadded corslets of cotton, three fingers thick and so cumbrous that, when the wearers fell in attempting to escape from the Spanish attack, they could not rise without assistance. A peculiar weapon mentioned in the Popol Vuh, as used by the Quiché in the defence of a fortress, consisted of a kind of bomb, formed of a gourd filled with live hornets; it is stated that by means of this ingenious weapon they succeeded in repelling an attack upon a fortified settlement. A good description of a fight between the Quiché and the Kakchiquel is given in the "Annals." "When the dawn appeared, the Quiché descended from the hills, the cries