> I've been working on broadening my historical knowledge base about "barbarian" tribes lately and I stumbled across the pre-Columbian Chichimecs in a [[rAskHistorians|r/AskHistorians]] thread about [the history of stigmatizing nudity](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/hrye59/considering_we_werent_born_with_clothing_how/). They're a fascinating group, so I dug a little deeper and discovered... ## Fun Facts - The Chichimecs were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers who lived near the Aztecs - The Aztecs differentiated between three types of Chichimecs: purely nomadic, semi-nomadic, and out-group agriculturalists. - Aztecs didn't view Chichimecs pejoratively; they were seen more as "noble savages" with different skills. - Mexican women experienced less pressure to change clothing styles during assimilation, and so their traditional fashions survived better. - Unlike many of their urban contemporaries, Chichimecs did not practice idolatry. ## Noble Savages The Florentine Codex, written by a Spanish Franciscan friar, praises the skills, humanity, fidelity, devoutness, medical knowledge, good health, rulership and hard work of the Chichimecs. \[[Read more](https://click.mailerlite.com/link/c/YT0xNDk0NzY5NTgwOTQ4NTkxNzQwJmM9dDlyMCZiPTM5MzcwMTgxOSZkPWw2cDJkNHU=.1V7uiZBJ2o0zO_FySH_cTz5lvZ6OTVUf8kvgQKdN7gA).\] ## Wide-Ranging The Chichimecs were roughly 8 nations who inhabited a region that spans roughly from modern-day Utah to the Valley of Mexico in roughly the 14th thru 16th centuries CE. \[[Read more](https://click.mailerlite.com/link/c/YT0xNDk0NzY5NTgwOTQ4NTkxNzQwJmM9dDlyMCZiPTM5MzcwMTgyMiZkPWEwcjhiOGs=.0J1bBSkM2jeUEPZGg1LxVH7H-P86LpDAeyM9Y4qqvXc).\][](https://click.mailerlite.com/link/c/YT0xNDk0NzY5NTgwOTQ4NTkxNzQwJmM9dDlyMCZiPTM5MzcwMTgyNSZkPXoxaDhwMWo=.7jkZKMKSWFz6owvwRKRWHifhSqs-9PQohMKGy4M2Rzc) ## Nifty Bows Noted for their bow-and-arrow skills, Chichimecs learned archery young. Their obsidian [[2020-08-31 Arrows|arrows]], fired by 60-70 cm long bows, had amazing penetrative power. \[[Read more](https://click.mailerlite.com/link/c/YT0xNDk0NzY5NTgwOTQ4NTkxNzQwJmM9dDlyMCZiPTM5MzcwMTgyOCZkPWY4dDhmMG4=.qOPP2xz0X_u0TrWjf3DOlEG5SfWVNmsNlSqAsGI7iDQ).\] ## Mountains & Deserts Part of the reason that the people who lived to the north of the Valley of Mexico lived nomadic lifestyles is because the land wasn't conducive to farming. \[[Read more](https://click.mailerlite.com/link/c/YT0xNDk0NzY5NTgwOTQ4NTkxNzQwJmM9dDlyMCZiPTM5MzcwMTgzMSZkPXk0bDFlMWc=.qxd7lhLA69blsfOymfjDBCL5XsoxB26Y0VCQghIOG-0).\]