10.2 Body modification and adornment in ancient cultures

Body modification in ancient cultures was a diverse and meaningful practice. From tattoos to piercings, these alterations served as expressions of identity, status, and spirituality across societies worldwide.

Ancient body modifications often marked significant life events and social roles. While some practices were gender-specific, others were universal, reflecting the complex interplay between individual identity and cultural norms in ancient societies.

Body Modification in Ancient Cultures

Forms of Body Modification and Adornment

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• Body modification alters the human body through practices such as tattooing, scarification, piercing, branding, and body shaping which were common in many ancient cultures around the world
• Body adornment uses decorative elements on the body including jewelry, makeup, clothing, and hairstyles and ancient cultures utilized a wide variety of materials and techniques for this purpose
• Tattoos created using pigments inserted under the skin are found on ancient mummies in Egypt, Nubia, Siberia, and the Andes with tattoo methods, designs and placements varying between cultures
• Scarification, the practice of cutting, burning or branding the skin to create patterns of scars, was prevalent in Africa, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Pre-Columbian South America
  • Specific patterns and designs used in scarification often held cultural or spiritual significance
• Piercings of the ears, nose, lips, and other body parts using materials like gold, silver, bone, and wood were widespread in the ancient world, as seen in remains from Persia, India and the Americas
• Skull elongation, foot binding, neck elongation and other body shaping practices were undertaken in various ancient cultures to achieve distinctive physical characteristics
  • These practices often began in childhood and continued throughout life to permanently alter body shape

Techniques and Materials Used

• Ancient tattoo techniques involved using sharpened tools (bone, stone, metal) to puncture the skin and insert pigments (soot, ochre, copper salts) into the wounds
• Scarification was accomplished through cutting the skin with sharp implements (flint, obsidian, shells), burning it with hot objects, or applying caustic plant juices to create raised scars in specific patterns
• Piercings were made using pointed tools (awls, needles) crafted from metal, bone, or wood and the holes were fitted with decorative objects like rings, plugs, and labrets
• Body shaping often involved applying constant pressure over time to malleable body parts (skull, feet, neck, ears) using restrictive devices (bindings, boards, rings) to elongate or reshape them
• Makeup and cosmetics in ancient times were made from natural minerals (malachite, kohl, cinnabar), plant extracts (henna, indigo), and animal products (fat, eggs) applied with brushes, sticks, or fingers

Significance of Body Modification

Cultural and Spiritual Meanings

• In ancient cultures, body modifications and adornments often held deep cultural significance and were used to convey complex social messages about the wearer's identity, status, and role in society
• Religious and spiritual beliefs frequently underpinned body modification practices with tattoos, piercings, and other modifications signifying devotion to deities, serving as protective talismans, or being part of rituals and rites of passage
  • Egyptian women sometimes tattooed the names or symbols of Hathor and Bes on their thighs as protection during childbirth
• The choice to undergo or not undergo certain modifications could express conformity or non-conformity with prevailing cultural norms and values
  • In Classical Greece, tattoos were seen as barbaric and were used to mark slaves and criminals, while free citizens avoided them

Social Hierarchy and Life Events

• Social hierarchy and status were expressed and reinforced through body modification and adornment with specific symbols, materials, or placements of body modifications indicating the wearer's place in the social structure
  • Mayan kings and nobles wore jade ear spools and dental inlays while commoners had more modest adornments of shell, bone, or clay
• Body modifications could serve as markers of important life events and transitions such as puberty, marriage, childbirth, or entry into a particular social group like a warrior class
  • In many Polynesian societies, receiving tattoos was an integral part of coming-of-age ceremonies for both boys and girls
• Access to certain body modifications, particularly those using rare or expensive materials (gold, lapis lazuli, jade), could be restricted based on gender and social status, serving to reinforce social hierarchies

Body Modification and Social Identity

Gender Differences

• Many ancient cultures had body modification practices that differed along gender lines, with certain modifications being associated with masculinity or femininity
• In some cultures, such as ancient Egypt and Crete, both men and women used makeup, jewelry, hair extensions, and other adornments to enhance their appearance and convey status, however, the specific styles and materials used often varied by gender
  • Egyptian men and women both wore elaborate wigs and hair extensions but the styles and decorations differed
• Tattoos and piercings sometimes had different meanings or connotations when applied to male or female bodies - in ancient Thrace, tattoos seem to have been a sign of high status for men but of low status for women

Rites of Passage and Initiation

• Body modifications could mark gendered rites of passage or transitions, such as male circumcision, female genital mutilation, or coming-of-age rituals involving tattoos or piercings
  • Maasai boys in East Africa were circumcised as part of their warrior initiation while girls had their ears stretched with heavy jewelry
• Undergoing painful or dangerous body modification procedures was often seen as a test of endurance, bravery, and discipline that marked the transition from childhood to adulthood in various cultures
  • In ancient Sparta, boys were flogged in front of an altar to Artemis Orthia as a rite of passage, sometimes to the point of death

Body Modification Practices: Ancient Civilizations vs. Modern Day

Culturally Specific Practices

• While body modification was widespread in the ancient world, the specific practices, techniques, and meanings varied significantly between cultures and time periods
• In Mesoamerica, dental modifications such as filing, inlaying, and embedding precious stones were common among the Maya, Aztecs, and other groups but similar practices are not found in ancient Egypt or Mesopotamia
• The tattoo designs used in ancient Egypt, such as the protective wadjet eye symbol, were culturally specific and not shared by contemporaneous cultures like the Greeks or Persians
• While some cultures, like the ancient Chinese and Africans, practiced foot binding and neck elongation respectively, these customs were not adopted outside of their specific cultural contexts

Similarities and Differences Across Cultures

• Ear piercings were nearly universal in ancient cultures, but the number, placement, and size of piercings, as well as the materials used, differed greatly while nose piercings were common in the Middle East and South Asia but less so in Europe
• The use of cosmetics, jewelry, and hairstyling to modify appearance was common across cultures, but the specific materials, styles, and cultural meanings differed significantly between regions and time periods
  • Kohl eyeliner was popular in ancient Egypt, Persia, and Babylonia but not in East Asia where face whitening was more common
• Certain body modification practices, like tattooing and scarification, can be found in many ancient cultures worldwide but the tools, techniques, and designs used were often unique to each culture
  • Polynesian societies practiced extensive tattooing but used different implements (bone combs, shell chisels) and inks (burnt candlenut soot) compared to ancient European or Asian cultures