Discover the Aztec macana weapon through a portrait of King Nezahualcoyotl in this exploration of Mesoamerican warfare, Indigenous technology, and pre-Hispanic history. The image shows Nezahualcoyotl charging into hand-to-hand combat with a macana, also called a macuahuitl, a carved wooden club embedded with razor-sharp obsidian blades used by Aztec warriors and earlier groups like the Toltec and Mixtec. Ruling Texcoco in the 1400s as part of the Aztec Triple Alliance, Nezahualcoyotl helped build a fierce and expansive military force. Images in the Codex Ixtlilxochitl, Codex Mendoza, and Florentine Codex reveal how warriors used macanas. Because no original Aztec macanas survive, these visual records help us understand this weapon.