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Aztec body modification (or body alteration) was practiced by the members of the Aztec Empire in Mesoamerica. Many times the body modification was used in ritual or ceremonial practices. It was also a crucial part of movement between major life stages.
The Aztecs were not the only group in Mesoamerica to practice extensive body modification. The Maya had a great history of body modification and arguably so did the Olmec and other major groups. [1] Indeed, ritual practices that included many forms of body modification is key in the list of tenets that are cultural traits shared that make Mesoamerica a “culture area”, an idea proposed by anthropologist Paul Kirchhoff. [2]
It is possible that many of the ritual practices may have come from the ritual practice of autosacrifice, the practice of bloodletting on oneself. It had a potent tie to the shamanistic and religious beliefs of the Aztec. By drawing blood they appeased their primary god, Huitzilopochtli. [2]
The cultures of Mesoamerica were well-known for making skeletal modifications and the Aztec certainly practiced these as well. [1] [2] Book 8 of the Florentine Codex speaks of a practice that the Aztec used in ritualistic ceremonies in which “children were grabbed by the neck to make them grow tall”. [3] This process may have caused changes in skeletal structure, due to stretched muscle attachments.
Cranial modification was a procedure that occurred when an individual was still young, usually during infancy because the cranial bones are still soft at this stage and capable of morphing. An infant would be bound between padded boards to cause a tabular effect in the growth of the skull. Another method was to wind a band tightly around the head for an annular effect. Both of these methods produced an elongated shape of the head. [2] This practice was seen as a desirable trait and often practiced in the upper classes; however it could be common on women in working positions because they would often carry children on their back for lengthy periods of time.
Teeth were another skeletal body part that was modified, usually by filing the tooth. Precious stones were often placed into bored holes in the teeth; some precious stones were jadeite, pyrite, or turquoise. This practice was most likely done when an individual was reaching young adulthood, as can be determined through the dating of the teeth found with these stones placed inside them. These alterations of the teeth most likely caused dental abscesses and possibly infection. [2]
Piercings are well represented both in documents and archaeological evidence. They may relate back to the autosacrifical ceremonies in which thorns or stingray spines would be drawn through the skin to cause bleeding for appeasement of the gods. [2]
Ear piercings occurred among both males and females. [4] Children first had their ears pierced at an early age. [2] Ears would often be pierced with a bone awl or a maguey spine then a string would be thread through them until they reached the age in which they could add ornaments to them. Ears would then be stretched systematically until they could hold the ear spools that were highly desired and given only to persons of a certain age as a show of maturation. [4]
Boys that were intended to enter military positions had their lips pierced at a young age. These lip piercings would then later have an ornament placed in them and be systematically stretched as they took prisoners of war. The existence of lip plugs on full-grown male adults suggested that they had done well militarily and had a career in the military. This, of course, suggested that only males had lip plugs.
Aztec men and women practiced labret piercing. The initial piercing, like ear and lip piercings, did not include the ornament being placed in the freshly pierced skin. [4] Part of this was the ritual movement of becoming an adult in which ornamentation signified adulthood. Another reason was that it allowed for more bloodletting practices and appeasement of deities throughout this time. [4]
Tattoos are less commonly found than skeletal modifications because of the lessened likelihood of preservation, there is documentary evidence to suggest that tattooing occurred with the Aztec. Ceramic seals have been found that may have been used to make an imprint on the skin before the tattoo was indelibly marked into the skin by the way of bone awls, maguey thorns, or other items. [2] Guerrero, a Spanish explorer, also states that he received tattoos on his face after being acclimated to native life in Mexico. [2]
Scarification refers to the permanent and intentional marking of the skin causing scars. There are multiple ways it can be done, but the most common in use in Mesoamerica was scarring inflicted by a stingray spine. Scarification was relatively limited to the priestly caste in Aztec society. Instead of being given the lip piercing that denoted military profession, boys devoted to the religious life would receive scars on their chests and hips at the same age as boys receiving the lip piercing. [4]
Branding refers to scars given intentionally through a source of heat, usually fire. The “singeing ceremony” was given to both Aztec boys and girls. It is uncertain of the age in which this ritual occurred. It was indicative of becoming one with the stars, as the burns on the wrists were aligned with certain constellations. A stick that had been placed in a fire would be pressed onto the skin of the child and the scar was thus given. It was an important body marking showing progression in age. [4]
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes and techniques, including hand-tapped traditional tattoos and modern tattoo machines. The history of tattooing goes back to Neolithic times, practiced across the globe by many cultures, and the symbolism and impact of tattoos varies in different places and cultures.
A lip piercing is a type of body piercing that penetrates the lips or the area surrounding the lips, which can be pierced in a variety of ways.
Body modification is the deliberate altering of the human anatomy or human physical appearance. In its broadest definition it includes skin tattooing, socially acceptable decoration, and religious rites of passage, as well as the modern primitive movement.
Scarification involves scratching, etching, burning/branding, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification or body art. The body modification can take roughly 6–12 months to heal. In the process of body scarification, scars are purposely formed by cutting or branding the skin by various methods. Scarification is sometimes called cicatrization.
Human physical appearance is the outward phenotype or look of human beings.
Nose piercing is the piercing of the skin or cartilage which forms any part of the nose, normally for the purpose of wearing jewelry, called a nose-jewel. Among the different varieties of nose piercings, the nostril piercing is the most common.
Mutilation or maiming is severe damage to the body that has a ruinous effect on an individual's quality of life. It can also refer to alterations that render something inferior, ugly, dysfunctional, or imperfect. In modern times, the term has an overwhelmingly negative connotation.
An earring is a piece of jewelry attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear. Earrings have been worn by people in different civilizations and historic periods, often with cultural significance.
A tongue piercing is a body piercing usually done directly through the center of the tongue. Since its decline in popularity around 2011, it has seen a recent upsurge making it now the second most popular piercing amongst young women aged 18-25 in 2019. It remains unpopular amongst men. Midline tongue piercings, or one hole through the center of the tongue is the most common way to have the tongue pierced.
Scalpelling is a body art procedure similar to body piercing for the creation of decorative perforations through the skin and other body tissue, and is most commonly used as a replacement for or enhancement of ear piercing. Whereas piercing is typically performed with a hollow piercing needle or an ear piercing instrument, scalpelling is performed by using a scalpel to cut a slit into the skin. Unlike dermal punching, no flesh is removed. The technique can immediately produce holes with a larger diameter than can be achieved by piercing. This is a more rapid means of accommodating larger gauge jewellery than stretching, a technique whereby piercings are enlarged by inserting gradually larger jewellery. Scalpelling is performed to quickly achieve a large-gauge piercing, when scar tissue is preventing further stretching, if tissue has thinned to the point where further stretching could cause it to break, or to combine two closely placed piercings into one hole.
Body suspension means the act of rigging a human body to hang from implements that have been placed through temporary perforations in the skin.
Stretching, in the context of body piercing, is the deliberate expansion of a healed piercing for the purpose of wearing certain types of jewelry. Ear piercings are the most commonly stretched piercings, with nasal septum piercings, tongue piercings and lip piercings/lip plates following close behind. While all piercings can be stretched to some degree, cartilage piercings are usually more difficult to stretch and more likely to form hypertrophic scars if stretched quickly. Dermal punching is generally the preferred method for accommodating larger jewelry in cartilage piercings.
Human branding or stigmatizing is the process by which a mark, usually a symbol or ornamental pattern, is burned into the skin of a living person, with the intention that the resulting scar makes it permanent. This is performed using a hot or very cold branding iron. It therefore uses the physical techniques of livestock branding on a human, either with consent as a form of body modification; or under coercion, as a punishment or to identify an enslaved, oppressed, or otherwise controlled person. It may also be practiced as a "rite of passage", e.g. within a tribe, or to signify membership of or acceptance into an organization.
Bloodletting was the ritualized practice of self-cutting or piercing of an individual's body that served a number of ideological and cultural functions within ancient Mesoamerican societies, in particular the Maya. When performed by ruling elites, the act of bloodletting was crucial to the maintenance of sociocultural and political structure. Bound within the Mesoamerican belief systems, bloodletting was used as a tool to legitimize the ruling lineage's socio-political position and, when enacted, was important to the perceived well-being of a given society or settlement.
The lip plate, also known as a lip plug, lip disc, or mouth plate is a form of body modification. Increasingly large discs are inserted into a pierced hole in either the upper or lower lip, or both, thereby stretching it. The term labret denotes all kinds of pierced-lip ornaments, including plates and plugs.
Maya society concerns the social organization of the Pre-Hispanic Maya, its political structures, and social classes. The Maya people were indigenous to Mexico and Central America and the most dominant people groups of Central America up until the 6th century.
Body piercing, which is a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn, or where an implant could be inserted. The word piercing can refer to the act or practice of body piercing, or to an opening in the body created by this act or practice. It can also, by metonymy, refer to the resulting decoration, or to the decorative jewelry used. Piercing implants alter body and/or skin profile and appearance. Although the history of body piercing is obscured by popular misinformation and by a lack of scholarly reference, ample evidence exists to document that it has been practiced in various forms by multiple sexes since ancient times throughout the world. Body piercing can be performed on people of all ages, although most minors are only permitted to have earlobe piercings.
Ear piercing is one of the oldest forms of body modification. It occurs when holes are created on the ear lobes or cartilage to allow the insertion of decorative ornaments, such as earrings. Ear piercing in children has been around for centuries as part of ritualistic and cultural traditions but has continued to become a worldwide mainstream fashion statement. It is extremely common in Nigeria, India, Brazil and Hispanic countries.