chīmalli
The chīmalli (Chimalli.ogg; "shield"), also known as a yaochimalli ("war shield"), was the traditional defensive armament of the indigenous states of Mesoamerica. These shields varied in design and purpose. The chīmalli was also used while wearing special headgear. • Illustration — A Xicalcoliuhqui Chīmalli • Illustration — Aztec warriors as depicted in the Codex Mendoza, each one wielding a shield (chīmalli) • Illustration — Shield belonging to the Aztec king Ahuitzotl currently Museum of Ethnology, Vienna, Austria. • Illustration — Ceremonial shield (māhuizzoh chimalli) with mosaic decoration.
chīmalli
- Field
- shield
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wikidata · Q1073079 · wikipedia · Chīmalli
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Construction
Construction
Aztec or Mixtec, AD 1400–1521. In the British Museum
Chīmalli were constructed out of materials such as the skins of deer, ocelots, and rabbits, plants such as bamboo, agave, and cotton, precious metals such as gold, and feathers from local, remote, and migratory birds. A single shield could be covered with as many as 26,400 feathers. Feathers for chīmalli were collected by bird breeders called amantecas, who hunted and raised several species of birds for the purpose of using their feathers for art. Being an amanteca was a family tradition, and one would teach the art to their progeny. The creation of chīmalli was also a community tradition, an art that involved amantecas, as well as goldsmiths, carpenters, and painters.
Variations
Variations
The size of the shields varied. Some had normal (circular design) dimensions, others covered the whole body. There are reports of versions that could be folded. There were also ceremonial shields called "māhuizzoh chīmalli" (?).
Literature
• Frances Berdan, Patricia Rieff Anawalt, The Codex Mendoza, Verlag University of California Press, 1992, page 6, • Justyna Olko, Turquoise diadems and staffs of the office: elite costume and insignia of power in Aztec and early colonial Mexico, Verlag Polish Society for Latin American Studies and Centre for Studies on the Classical Tradition, University of Warsaw, 2005, page 229,
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Licensing
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Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Chīmalli, revision 1320297244 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España.
- 2.Historia General de las cosas de Nueva España.
- 3.Historia General de las cosas de Nueva España. IX.
- 4.A Glossary of the Construction and use of armas and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times. 978-0-486-40726-5.
- 5.Recuperan ofrendas en Templo Mayor.
- 6.Aztec, Mixtec and Zapotec Armies. 1-85532-159-9.
- 7.El conquistador anónimo.
- 8.Conservación de Arte Plumario. 978-607-484-542-6.
- 9.El Zoológico de Moctezuma no es un mito.
- 10.Der altmexikanische Federmosaikschild in Wien.
- 11.The Codex Magliabechiano and the Lost Prototype of the Magliabechiano Group.
- 12.Inauguran escultura Guerrero Chimalli de Sebastián.
- 13.“Guerrero Chimalli” costó 30 mdp; tiene una historia similar a la Torre Eiffel, dice autor.
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Citations
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Broader subject
1- shieldTerminology
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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