"Chinantec spearmen (image)" Topic

Here are the greens of the upcoming 15mm Chinantec spearmen:

picture

These were a league of around 24 towns in the rugged mountainous north of the Oaxacan valley in what is now southern Mexico, whose commoners fought with a huge spear which was on its front studded with razor sharp flint along the outer edge. They were loyal vassals of the Spanish, and determined foes of the hated Aztecs (these two things not being coincidental).

There is an army list for them in the Field of Glory game system, and perhaps one might be added to the DBMM army list book 4, and other game systems as well.

The ring on the head is a bit more pronounced on the models than will be the case on the production castings because of crushing in the mouldmaking process -- so they were made bigger to compensate for compression. The spears could be even longer! Some sources say 15 feet, others say over 20! But this is as long as we could comfortably make them and still get them to cast.

This army should be out in spring of 2010. The skirmishers (bows and slings in simple breechclout) are being made now, and I'm working on getting the depiction of the noble archers (who fight a bit like undrilled Janissaries, basically) correct, as well as command.

atb,
khurasanminiatures.tripod.com

Fantastic! A new bit of trivia I never knew about.

Best,
Steve
Cavalcade Wargames
cavalcadewargames.com

Sweet! These are a sure thing for me when they are released. Good going!

I love them! I will definitely buying a pack of each when they are released :)

atb,

Don't forget the missile troops that were inserted amongst the "pikemen". The long spears or "pikes" were used to hold the enemy at bay, while the missile troops thinned them out.

Cortes asked for a unit if Chinanteca to deal with Narveaz's cavalry but the anticipated battle never came to be. Pity.

Now we need a 25/28mm version.

Ralph

atb?

Don't forget the missile troops that were inserted amongst the "pikemen". The long spears or "pikes" were used to hold the enemy at bay, while the missile troops thinned them out.

Yup, as my original message said:

The skirmishers (bows and slings in simple breechclout) are being made now, and I'm working on getting the depiction of the noble archers (who fight a bit like undrilled Janissaries, basically) correct, as well as command.

The problem is figuring out how to depict the noble archers who had macana and bow -- if they are shooting their bow, where did they store the macana?

Proof that large prehistoric animals were still wandering North America. I think that spear is an anti-megafauna personal defence weapon.

Another great range in the offing

Did you say large prehistoric animals? Stay tuned.

Ha! Now I'm even more intrigued.

Khurasanminiatures wrote me a long time back on the WABForum. I'm sorry for the late reply:

Hi, sorry for the very late response. It seems the term macana is now used for a variety of wooden war clubs and war paddles. I would say that the Chinantecs would have used the maquahuitl, which is basically a macana with inset chert, flint or obsidian flakes. Their long Pikes had inserted obsidian blades, so why wouldn't the smaller swords? A noble or elite warrior would have used an atlatl, and the skirmishing missile troops would have the bows and slings.

A macana and a maquahuitl usually had a wrist strap. You could strap it to the left wrist while the left hand placed the bolts into the atlatl which was held and thrown by the right hand. Is this conjecture? Sure is, welcome to the wonderful world of Meso-American warfare.

The long spear/pikemen used the long pavesina that could be rolled up. This was a Mayan design from long before. I would guess you can't go wrong with a round shield for the Maquahuitl armed soldiers. Would they have a feathered fringe at the bottom? Well, the Zapotecs and Mixtecs and the Aztecs all had these fringes, so I can guess, probably yes.

Bowmen and slingers probably did not use a shield.

How did the pikes work, and why? Europeans tend to think of a pike as an anti-cavalry defensive weapon. But there were no cavalry to defend against until the Spanish arrived. Apparently, the nations from Oaxaca held off the enemy shock troops by their 18-20 foot pikes. Interspersed with the pikemen would be atlatl equipped melee troops who would soften up the enemy ranks. Remember, at short range a atlatl bolt will penetrate Spanish breastplate. Flanking archers and slingers will also pour in some missile fire. When a weak spot would develop due to the missile fire, the Oaxacan shock troops would charge forward into that spot. A "schwerpunkt" you might say. Is this conjecture? Not as much this time, as we get some corroboration from Bernal Diaz. Hope that helps.

Ralph

How are these coming along? Just asking……..

They were pretty loyal to the Spanish, but do you know when they revolted – in the 1530s?