New 28mm Mayans from Gringo40s for Salute release

[gringo]

Gents wondering if anyone can post some mayan shield designs i have
some but need a LOT more..would be very helpfull
maybe Cdm or Bowman have some hidden visual treasures on this front!!

regards
Ged
www.gringo40s.com
www.gringo40s.blogspot.com
and 28mm rsnges

[Lowtardog]

Are there any in the Ian Heath book, not sure as they arent my indians of choice


Just checked, not much pages 64-66

[gringo]

There are lowtardog but not an abundance and im gathering as much info
for them as i can!! cheers anyway

regards
Ged
www.gringo40s.com
www.gringo40s.blogspot.com
and 28mm ranges

[Bowman]

Gents wondering if anyone can post some mayan shield designs i have
some but need a LOT more..would be very helpfull
maybe Cdm or Bowman have some hidden visual treasures on this front!!

The sad irony is that the Maya were the only people that developed a written language as we understand it. They wrote many books, that were sadly destroyed by the Conquistadors at the behest of their clergy. so we don't have the beautifully illustrated codices as seen with the Aztecs. Therefore, we have to rely on Mayan mural painting.

The best preserved murals come from Bonampak. Here is an overview of the Emperor Chaan Muan presented with captives after a battle:



Try to pay attention to the "flunkies" at the bottom of the mural. That is the typical soldier, in this case, all unarmoured. Infuriatingly, none of the soldiers seem to have a "pacal" or shield.

Here is a close up of Mr. Chaan Muan himself:



Note the typical design of the "tok" or spear. Note the other figures seem to carry a type of macana or edged club. The end of the macana seems to be decorated in quetzal feathers. That is only my guess. The implement could be something entirely different.

Here is another detail from another mural showing Chaan Muan in action:



Just like the depictions of Aztec warfare, the victor clasps the captive by the tufts of his hair. Note that Chaan Muan is wearing the same jade decorations over his jaguar shirt/armour. The fellow next to him seems to be holding a "pacal", however the artist (again, infuriatingly) decided to paint it on end.

A word of warning; Chaan Muan existed in the 8th Century, placing him smack in the Classical Era. Unfortunately, the Conquistadors showed up about 700 years later, during the Post-Collapse or Terminal Era.

For pictorial depictions of warfare set in the time of the Conquest, we only have the murals of the Temple of the Jaguars in Chichen Itza to go by. If you are lucky enough to be there, you will find a painting of a battle between the invading Toltec-like Central Mexicans and the defending Mayan Itza. The painting is breath taking. However, any type of photography is strictly forbidden and enforced. There are very few pictures of this mural. Here is the best one I can find. It is only a small portion of the entire painting:



It's hard to make things out. The Toltec influenced Central Mexicans wear a flattened head piece adorned with blue feathers, carry an atlatl, and have the painted round shield, typical of central Mexico. It's difficult to make out any Maya, if there are any.

Eventually the Toltecs defeated and merged with the local Maya, and made Chichen Itza a local capital. The famous buildings we are all familiar with such as the Great Pyramid (El Castillo), the ball court, the Tzompantli, and the Temple of the Warriors are all from this Toltec influenced era. Eventually the Itza overthrew there Toltec masters, but retained some of their characteristics, such as architecture, etc. How did these Post Collapse Mayan warriors look? No clue. Sorry.

[gringo]

great post thanks Bowman it answers some questions ..certainly one as to the seeming paucity of information on the "terminal" period of the Mayans.....its been mentioned to me recently that the Mayans may have
carried plain white shields  (percentage low i believe) ...daisy shields..
the onus seems to have been on a plainer look shield..maybe as their
wealth diminsished the decorations became porer.
 
loved this psot with much food for thought. spear tops are interesting.
regards
Ged
www.gringo40s.com
www.gringo40s.blogspot.com
and 28mm ranges

[Elk101]

Hi Bowman. Wasn't there something fairly recently where dating of buildings in Chichen Itza and Tula determined that many of the Chichen Itza buildings were contemporaries to, or predated those previously thought to have inspired them in Tula? The whole thing is fascinating! There's some great discussion coming out of this figure range!

[Franz_Josef]

"Fun fact" about the captives in the first mural, they are all captured enemy scribes which is why they are shown bleeding from the fingers.  As scribes were responsible for writing about the glory of their lord (often a relative) and his dynasty, a Mayan symbol of victory over a competing city state was the breaking of the fingers of the defeated lords' scribes.  A literal example of the winners writing the history. 

[Bowman]

It's hard to see but the left-most captive is shown having his fingers broken by a guard.

[gringo]

just a comment chaps seems to be an awfull lot of palentine jaguar skin

on display i wonder how much was "fake fur" and how much was the

real deal. i guess top honcos only.....?

the deeper on digs the more wonders are unearthed
 

regards
Ged
www.gringo40s.com

[Elk101]

I have this on Maya shields from Maria Longhena's book on Maya script (I must admit to finding it a bit of a frustrating book as seems to repeat a few 'facts' that have been revised following new evidence determined well before the book was written, or at least published. Plus for a book on the Maya it spends a lot of time talking about other peoples).

"Usually shields were round, but sometimes rectangular, and were made of wood, wicker, or leather. The more valuable shields usually had a surface decoration of vividly coloured feathers from the quetzal or other tropical bird. Although there is no definite documentation, it is reasonable to believe that the Maya also decorated their wooden shields with turquoise mosaics, as was the custom of the Mixtec people. Shields of this type were also part of the funeral furnishings of high ranking Mixtec court dignitaries."

The image below is from the same book showing the shield of a terracotta warrior.

[gringo]

Elk

very interesting...the jade coloured mosaics seem to make a lot of
sense seeing their love of this mineral and its use as a body ornaments.wicker shields ....theres still an overlap with the Aztecs in]feathers it seems............pinced each others look and ideas..and why not
thanks for that

regards
Ged
www.gringo40s.com

[Helen]

Hi Ged, any time frame for the suited warriors of the Huaxtecs?

Cheers,

Helen

[gringo]

Hi Helen

to be honest they are on the list ...i will let you know once work
commences on them
thanks for the continued interest!

regards
Ged
www.gringo40s.com
www.gringo40s.blogspot.com
and 28mm ranges

[Helen]

Hi Helen

to be honest they are on the list ...i will let you know once work
commences on them
thanks for the continued interest!

regards
Ged
www.gringo40s.com
www.gringo40s.blogspot.com
and 28mm ranges

Thanks Ged, sounds great.

Helen

[Sir Barnaby Hammond-Rye]

The side on view of the shield is good as it shows they were not flat (or may not have been flat, is perhaps the better way to say it!)