wanderer wrote on Mar 14
th, 2008 at 7:19am:
The use of heated stones sounds pretty nasty. It just also seems it would be rather awkward in practice except in circumstances such as sieges.
I can recall mention of their use with the sling from other places as well, although in both cases the historic reference was to do with using them to set fire to thatched roofs.
I can't remember the details (someone else here probably does, and I really ought to go look for it
) but the Conquistadors were involved in a siege during which the Inca (I think) slingers set fire to roofs. Also, such missiles were reported in conflicts between the Romans and Ancient Britons, again in setting fire to thatched roofs.
Maguey is from the Agave plant - I've never been sure how specific to species the term really is. Wikipedia has articles on this, but I havn't checked through it. It's definitely not rare, which is good for lovers of tequila
.
The anecdote was from "1491" by Charles Mann, and was referring to the Spanish Conquest of the Inkan people, specifically, the siege of the city, Qusco. "On page 84, he includes a section of the most feared Inkan weapon, the sling.
"Experts could hurl a stone, the Spanish adventurer Alonso Enriquez de Guzman wrote, 'with such force that it will kill a horse...I have seen a stone, thus hurled from a sling, break a sword in two pieces when held in a man's hand at a distance of 30 paces.' Later he goes on to describe what is so far, my favourite passsage of the book.
"In a frightening innovation, the Inka heated stones in campfires unitl they were red hot, and wrapped them in pitched-soaked cotton, and hurled them at their targets. The cotton caught fire in midair. In a sudden onslaught, the sky would rain burning missiles. During a counterattack in May 1536, an Inka army used these missiles to burn Spanish occupied Qosqo (Cusco) to the ground. Unable to step outside, the conquistadors cowered in shelters beneath a relentless, weeks-long barrage of flaming stone."
It's a really great book, and would be even without this information, and has been an eye-opening read into the true story of pre-columbian american societies. Even I, who commonly attributes great success to pre-columbian people on their own merits, have been surprised numerous times by the true picture of their accomplishments.