PREHISTORIC MAN IN THE NEW WORLD 
existed in that part of the New World. They did, how- 
ever, domesticate the turkey, later introduced by the 
Spaniards into Europe. 
Pottery was, of course, early known on the Mexican 
plateau. In time it came to be of high quality. Much 
interesting work was also done in the carving of jade and 
other hard stones, in the manufacture of mosaics, in weav- 
ing, and in the making of baskets. 
The Aztecs worked gold, silver, and copper to some 
extent, but the principal material for tools remained stone. 
For those requiring a cutting edge, such as the knives used 
by the priests in killing their victims, they employed 
obsidian, or volcanic glass. They armed heavy hardwood 
clubs with a double row of obsidian blades, making weap- 
ons capable of striking a frightful blow, and they used 
spears and bows and arrows. The warriors, brilliant with 
war paint, carried round shields adorned with feathers, 
while officers further protected themselves with helmets 
in the form of birds and beasts of prey, with tunics of 
quilted cotton which could stop a stone-tipped arrow, and 
with wooden greaves for the legs. Montezuma himself, on 
account of his sacred character, was carried into battle 
on a litter. 
There were many divinities, the chief being the war god, 
Huitzilopochtli. Worship consisted of pageants, dances, 
processions, and various ceremonies, in which flowers 
were lavishly used, incense was burned, and music was 
made on flutes and drums. 
In the Aztec religion human sacrifice played an almost 
incredibly great part. The worshipers and often the vic- 
tims were decked out in brilliant costumes, feather orna- 
ments, and headdresses. In some instances they regarded 
the victim as the earthly personification of the god to 
whom he was destined to be sacrificed, and treated him 
accordingly with every honor up to the very day of his 
doom. When, about a generation before the coming of the 
Spaniards, the Aztecs completed the great central group 
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