The Knife, Sacrifice and Meaning

[Emanuel]

I just watched Apocalypto, and there is indeed a lot of food for thought. I liked the myriad jade artefacts they used. The obsidian knives and axes were amazing, and particularly the sword club -macuahitl- a very interesting weapon: "the prefered weapon of Aztec armies. Carved of hardwood, it was fitted with obsidian blades along the two cutting edges. The weapon was as sharp as a razor and intended to maim or otherwise disable an enemy so he could be captured."

They make me wonder at how strong jade must have been to be useful as a weapon.


At a number of points in the movie, the head mayan/aztec slave-hunter brandishes and uses a very nice obsidian blade with bone handle. It seemed like he employed it specifically for some meaningful kills, not the regular slaughter. So I guess a specific weapon can gain meaning as more than a tool over time, as its performance keeps demonstrating its power and usefulness.