When the barrage began, soldiers advanced carrying stone-bladed wooden broadswords (macuahuitl) and thrusting spears (tepoztopilli). These were both relatively recent innovations. The thrusting spear was an elaboration on earlier versions, but now possessed an elongated wooden head inset with obsidian versions, but now possessed an elongated wooden head inset with obsidian blades. The broadsword, however, was a more radical departure and probably emerged in the mid-fourteenth century. Perhaps an evolution from the Toltec short sword, the broadsword was made of oak inset with obsidian blades and, with its greater size (0.84 metres or 2 feet 8 inches), it displaced the former. The most experienced and accomplished warriors were well protected, wearing quilted cotton armour under suits of woven feathers or skins and usually helmets, and carrying shields, which were as much a badge of achievement as functional protection. Although the elite warriors were heavily armoured, the novices wore no armour at all, a reflection of their respective accomplishments in battle.