Aztec body modification

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. 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. It is possible that many of the ritual practices may have come from the ritual practice of autosacrifice. Autosacrifice is 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.

The cultures of Mesoamerica were well-known for making skeletal modifications and the Aztec certainly practiced these as well. 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.” 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 make 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. 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 elongated periods of time.

Teeth were another skeletal body part that was modified. Teeth were remodeled by reshaping the bottom of the teeth, 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 told 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.

...
Wikipedia