A small clarification: pre-Columbian Mesoamerica did have copper and bronze metalworking, after picking it up from contact with South American societies some time between 600 and 800 CE. The Nahuas (Aztecs) had bronze axes called tlaximaltepoztli, for example. Macuahuitls might have just been better at cutting than bronze blades, though. Societies that learned about ironworking mostly replaced their bronze weapons with it, after all
The mesoamerican version of a baseball bat full of nails
Or what happens when a society that doesn’t have metalworking wants to make a sword.
A small clarification: pre-Columbian Mesoamerica did have copper and bronze metalworking, after picking it up from contact with South American societies some time between 600 and 800 CE. The Nahuas (Aztecs) had bronze axes called tlaximaltepoztli, for example. Macuahuitls might have just been better at cutting than bronze blades, though. Societies that learned about ironworking mostly replaced their bronze weapons with it, after all
Sorry, I was just trying to emphasize the more “sword-like” rather than “club-like” nature of the thing, not impugn their technology.
Obsidian is still better at cutting than steel. Surgeons use it.