text: Spies Prior to mobilization, formal spies called quimichtin (lit. Mice) were sent into the territory of the enemy to gather information that would be advantageous to the Aztecs. Specifically, they were requested to take careful note of the terrain that would be crossed, fortification used, details about the army, and their preparations. These spies also sought out those who were dissidents in the area and paid them for information. The quimichtin traveled only by night and even spoke the language and wore the style of clothing specific to the region of the enemy. Due to the extremely dangerous nature of this job (they risked a torturous death and the enslavement of their family if discovered), these spies were amply compensated for their work.
  The Aztecs also used a group of trade spies, known as the naualoztomeca. The naualoztomeca were forced to disguise themselves as they traveled. They sought after rare goods and treasures. The naualoztomeca were also used for gathering information at the markets and reporting the information to the higher levels of pochteca.
  Equipment
  Aztec culture is built on making sacrifices to the gods. Therefore, the goals of warfare were about capturing the enemies, not killing them. This would allow the ability to sacrifice your enemy at a later date. Due to this part of their culture, weapons were designed to hurt the opponent, but not kill them. Weapons such as the macuahuitl, tlahuitolli, yaomime, slings such as tematlat were all designed to hurt the enemy in order to capture them, not kill them.