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Description

UPDATE: PLEASE SEE THE NEWER/UPDATED VERSION I DID HERE www.deviantart.com/kamazotz/ar…

I know, I know, I said I would do the male Maya hairstyles next. But, I wanted to get this one done since I've been asked about the Aztecs a lot (they appear to be super popular!)

These are Aztec hairstyles and headwear that were worn in battle/war. Some of these are also appropriate for civilian use, especially the more plain ones towards the bottom. I'll do those later as well, and also women's hairstyles, after I finish with the Maya males that is.

The Aztecs are a people that are more correctly named the Mexica. These are Nahuas originally from Aztlán (Aztec means person of Aztlán and the quasi legendary/historical homeland was believed to be somewhere in northwestern Mexico) who migrated and settled in Central Mexico. The term Aztec is relatively recent in the last couple centuries, and the people themselves were refered to and called themselves the Mexica or sometimes Tenochca (their new city in Central Mexico was Tenochtitlan, now modern day Mexico City). In Mesoamerican chronology and even among the Nahua migrants that began settling the valley of Mexico and elsewhere, the Mexica were relatively newcomers arriving in the Mid to Late Postclassic period. Aztec has come to incorpórate a broad term though, with varying definitions. Here, I will refer to the Aztecs as the members of the Triple Alliance (Aztec Empire), which were the Mexica (Tenochtitlan), Tepanecs (Tlacopan), and Acolhuans (Texcoco). In 1428, these three cities, after defeating the powerful city of Azcapotzalco, formed the Triple Alliance and in the next few decades became the dominant forcé in Mesoamérica until their enemies, the Tlaxcaltecs with help from the Europeans brought an end to their civilization and the beginning of Spanish colonial rule. Much of the culture however continues today, ranging from festivals like Day of the Dead, to modern Mexican food and cuisine, to the languages of today (Mexican Spanish has been heavily influenced by Nahuatl). With this in mind, I will move on to the hairstyles.

The hairstyles

The first eight at the top represent battle headwear of the Tlatoanis - the rulers of the Triple Alliance (But this title was also used for rulers of other altepetl or city-states of Mesoamérica in general). Four of them are named, and one of these, the Eagle helmet worn by Cuauhtémoc (the last Mexica Tlatoani) seems the same as that of the warriors of the Eagle order. In general it seems Tlatoanis had the option to wear what they desired to battle.

The four on the side represent a Parrot, Jaguar, Tzizimitl/Freightful spectre, and Coyote. The helmets were usually made of wood and covered with feathers or painted, and in some cases used animal skins. On the right you have an elite warrior with the rank of the Cuachic, and an Otomitl warrior to his right. Below with the red paint on the faces are warrior priests. The men with the ribbon tying the top part of their hair (a style caled temillotl) belong to the Tequihuaqueh. The warrior with the black horizontal and vertical lines on his face wears it in the style of the Otomíes (another ethnic group in the Valley of Mexico). The conical hat belongs to warriors who wore the Huastec suit called the Cuextecatl. Next to him is an alternative style with two spindle whorls hanging over his head. These carry attributes of the war God Painal and the Goddess Tlazolteotl (the spindle whorls and crescent moon shaped nose ornament). Tlazolteotl was an important deity of the Huastecs and the Aztecs adopted these styles and symbols into their armies after conquering them.The final hairstyles are worn by ordinary Aztec warriors. The way the hair was adorned was a right given to those who ascended to a certain rank. And this was strictly enforced in their society.

It seems Aztecs did not paint their face much outside of ritual occassions, and only some ranks did so in battle. Tattoos are not seen and from what I know, the Aztecs did not wear tattoos and often times made fun of other cultures who did so. In celebrations after a warrior took his first captive usually his face was painted with two colors on two halves of his face.

Sources

-Codex Cozcatzin
-Codex Ixtlixochitl
-Codice Matrinense
-Codex Mendoza
-Codex Vaticanus A
-Florentine Codex
-Hassig Ross. Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. 1988.
-Heath, Ian. Armies of the Sixteenth Century: The Armies of the Aztec and Inca Empires, other native people of the Americas, and the Conquistadores 1450-1608. 1999.
-Heyden, Doris (trans) A History of the Indies of New Spain by Diego Duran. 1581 (1994)
-Lienzo de Tlaxcala
-Matricula de Tributos
-Pohl, John MD Aztec Mixtec Zapotec Armies. 1991.

Description

UPDATE: PLEASE SEE THE NEWER/UPDATED VERSION I DID HERE www.deviantart.com/kamazotz/ar…

I know, I know, I said I would do the male Maya hairstyles next. But, I wanted to get this one done since I've been asked about the Aztecs a lot (they appear to be super popular!)

These are Aztec hairstyles and headwear that were worn in battle/war. Some of these are also appropriate for civilian use, especially the more plain ones towards the bottom. I'll do those later as well, and also women's hairstyles, after I finish with the Maya males that is.

The Aztecs are a people that are more correctly named the Mexica. These are Nahuas originally from Aztlán (Aztec means person of Aztlán and the quasi legendary/historical homeland was believed to be somewhere in northwestern Mexico) who migrated and settled in Central Mexico. The term Aztec is relatively recent in the last couple centuries, and the people themselves were refered to and called themselves the Mexica or sometimes Tenochca (their new city in Central Mexico was Tenochtitlan, now modern day Mexico City). In Mesoamerican chronology and even among the Nahua migrants that began settling the valley of Mexico and elsewhere, the Mexica were relatively newcomers arriving in the Mid to Late Postclassic period. Aztec has come to incorpórate a broad term though, with varying definitions. Here, I will refer to the Aztecs as the members of the Triple Alliance (Aztec Empire), which were the Mexica (Tenochtitlan), Tepanecs (Tlacopan), and Acolhuans (Texcoco). In 1428, these three cities, after defeating the powerful city of Azcapotzalco, formed the Triple Alliance and in the next few decades became the dominant forcé in Mesoamérica until their enemies, the Tlaxcaltecs with help from the Europeans brought an end to their civilization and the beginning of Spanish colonial rule. Much of the culture however continues today, ranging from festivals like Day of the Dead, to modern Mexican food and cuisine, to the languages of today (Mexican Spanish has been heavily influenced by Nahuatl). With this in mind, I will move on to the hairstyles.

The hairstyles

The first eight at the top represent battle headwear of the Tlatoanis - the rulers of the Triple Alliance (But this title was also used for rulers of other altepetl or city-states of Mesoamérica in general). Four of them are named, and one of these, the Eagle helmet worn by Cuauhtémoc (the last Mexica Tlatoani) seems the same as that of the warriors of the Eagle order. In general it seems Tlatoanis had the option to wear what they desired to battle.

The four on the side represent a Parrot, Jaguar, Tzizimitl/Freightful spectre, and Coyote. The helmets were usually made of wood and covered with feathers or painted, and in some cases used animal skins. On the right you have an elite warrior with the rank of the Cuachic, and an Otomitl warrior to his right. Below with the red paint on the faces are warrior priests. The men with the ribbon tying the top part of their hair (a style caled temillotl) belong to the Tequihuaqueh. The warrior with the black horizontal and vertical lines on his face wears it in the style of the Otomíes (another ethnic group in the Valley of Mexico). The conical hat belongs to warriors who wore the Huastec suit called the Cuextecatl. Next to him is an alternative style with two spindle whorls hanging over his head. These carry attributes of the war God Painal and the Goddess Tlazolteotl (the spindle whorls and crescent moon shaped nose ornament). Tlazolteotl was an important deity of the Huastecs and the Aztecs adopted these styles and symbols into their armies after conquering them.The final hairstyles are worn by ordinary Aztec warriors. The way the hair was adorned was a right given to those who ascended to a certain rank. And this was strictly enforced in their society.

It seems Aztecs did not paint their face much outside of ritual occassions, and only some ranks did so in battle. Tattoos are not seen and from what I know, the Aztecs did not wear tattoos and often times made fun of other cultures who did so. In celebrations after a warrior took his first captive usually his face was painted with two colors on two halves of his face.

Sources

-Codex Cozcatzin
-Codex Ixtlixochitl
-Codice Matrinense
-Codex Mendoza
-Codex Vaticanus A
-Florentine Codex
-Hassig Ross. Aztec Warfare: Imperial Expansion and Political Control. 1988.
-Heath, Ian. Armies of the Sixteenth Century: The Armies of the Aztec and Inca Empires, other native people of the Americas, and the Conquistadores 1450-1608. 1999.
-Heyden, Doris (trans) A History of the Indies of New Spain by Diego Duran. 1581 (1994)
-Lienzo de Tlaxcala
-Matricula de Tributos
-Pohl, John MD Aztec Mixtec Zapotec Armies. 1991.