PRIMITIVE AMERICAN ARMOR. 647 



Among the Pueblo tribes "they also wore cuirasses of elk or bison 

 skin, or of padded cotton and yucca, and carried round shields of 

 basketry of heavily and closely netted cotton, or of thick rawhide, 

 symbolically painted." * 



Coming- to the great civilizations of ancient Mexico, Bancroft says of 

 the Xahua Iiidians of Mexico : 



The chimalli, or Mexican shield, was made of various materials and of divers 

 forms, sometimes rounded and sometimes oval; sometimes rounded on the lower side. 

 It was commonly constructed of flexible bamboo canes bound firmly together and 

 covered with hide. The face of the shield was ornamented according to the rank 

 and taste of the wearer; that of a noble was generally covered with thin plates of 

 gold, with a heavy boss in the center. In Tabasco and along the coast tortoise shells 

 inlaid with gold, silver, or copper were commonly used as shields. Reeds, grass, hides, 

 or 'nequen cloth, coated with India rubber, served to protect an Aztec common soldier. 

 Some shields were of an ordinary size; others were intended to cover the entire body, 

 and were c*istrncted so that when not in use they could be folded up and carried 

 under the arm. The body armor of the nobles and higher grades of warriors con- 

 sisted of a breastplate made of quilted cotton, one or two fingers in thickness, called 

 "ichcahuipilli." Over this was a thick cotton coat which covered part of the arms 

 and thighs, made in one piece, fastened behind and decorated with feathers of the 

 color of the company's uniform. The cotton armor was completely arrow proof. 

 Arm and leg guards made of wood, covered with leather or gold plates and trimmed 

 with feathers, and of the same material, shaped and painted to represent the head of 

 a tiger, serpent, or monster with mouth open and teeth bared, complete the 

 defensive armor. t 



Again, in treating of theToltecs, Yeytia relates: 



The body armor worn by the principal warriors was made of double cloth padded 

 with cotton. It difl^ered from that of the Aztecs, reaching down the ankles, and was 

 worn over a thin white tunic. The private soldier painted the upper part of the 

 body to represent armor, but from the waist to the thighs they wore short drawers, 

 and over them fastened around the waist a kind of kilt that reached to the knee, 

 and availed them somewhat for defense. Across the body was a sash made of 

 feathers that passed from the right shoulder to the left side of the waist, t 



Cotton-padded armor seems to have been the principal type used in 

 Mexico. Among the Mayas of Mexico — 



In addition to shields the Mayas had for defensive armor garments of thickly- 

 quilted cotton, called escawpiles, which covered the body down to the lower part of 

 the thigh, and wei-e considered impervious to arrows.^ 



There are a few references among the Isthmian tribes of the use of 

 armor where the skin and rod types persist. Gabb says that the Bri 

 Bris and Tiribis, Costa Rica, use " an iron-headed lance with shaft 

 barely 4 feet long. Round shields were carried on the arm, made of 

 the thickest part of the hide of the tapir." || 



* Extract from article "Pueblos," by F.H. Gushing, to be published in Johnson's 

 Cyclop;edia. 

 + Bancroft, H. H., Native Races of the Pacific States, Vol. ii., p. 407. 

 t Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., Tom. i, pp. 289-90. 

 $ Bancroft, op., cit., i, p. 655. 

 II Gabb, A. M., Indians of Costa Rica, p. 516, Proc. Am. Philos. Soc., Aug. 20, 1875. 



