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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]
To the ancient Maya, body modification was a reflection of a cultural, and individual identity. [11] Through different modifications, the body could be experienced individually, used as a symbol, or as a political statement. Beauty was also used to outwardly show and perform social and moral values. [12]
Maya medicine concerns health and medicine among the ancient Maya civilization.It was a complex blend of mind, body, religion, ritual and science.Important to all, medicine was practiced only by a select few, who generally inherited their positions and received extensive education.
Artificial cranial deformation or modification, head flattening, or head binding is a form of body alteration in which the skull of a human being is deformed intentionally. It is done by distorting the normal growth of a child's skull by applying pressure.
Ichcahuipilli armor was a lightweight, multifunctional garment worn on the torso of the warrior, designed to provide blunt-force trauma protection against clubs and batons, slash protection from obsidian macuahuitl, and projectile protection from arrows and atlatl darts. [3]
Sacrifice was a common theme in the Aztec culture. In the Aztec "Legend of the Five Suns", all the gods sacrificed themselves so that mankind could live.Some years after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, a body of the Franciscans confronted the remaining Aztec priesthood and demanded, under threat of death, that they desist from this traditional practice.
The Mayan calendar’s 819-day cycle has confounded scholars for decades, but new research shows how it matches up to planetary cycles over a 45-year span
Abacus – The Aztec and Maya of Mesoamerica performed arithmetic operations using an abacus. It served as a more accurate and faster alternative to a written solution or relying on memory. Archaeologists have recorded the Mesoamerican abacus, or Nepohualtzintzin, as being present in Mesoamerica from at least between 900 and 1000 CE. [1]