cuexyo (Mdz64r)

An original cuexyo shield is part of the collections of the National Museum of History in Mexico. This design, similar to what we see in glyph for chimalli (below, right) but with a different background color, was, according to an article in Arqueología Mexicana, associated with the a war shield from the Huaxtec region (the Huasteca, today). The full name is cuexyo chimalli (or possibly cuexyochimalli), where cuexyo serves as an adjective. One name for the people of the Huasteca was "cuexteca," according to Sahagún. An original example from prior to contact exists today in a museum in Mexico City. It has feathers and jaguar skin on it and a wooden backing (and therefore should have been known as a cuauhchimalli), according to Manuel Aguilar-Moreno, Handbook to Life in the Aztec World (2007), p. 115. It was discovered in Vienna in the nineteenth century, and its return to Mexico was secured by a Mexican diplomat, Gregorio Barandiarán, according to the article. Another excellent photograph of the original was published in El Universal newspaper. The historical contextualizing image that we provide shows a striking difference between the warrior in red who holds the the elaborate cuexyo chimalli shield and the plainer shield held by the captive.