Physical Traits – The Mayan Civilization
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Based on archaeological and ethnographic evidence, it can be deduced that the Maya people had (and have) broad heads (brachycephalic), aquiline noses, black and straight hair, prominent cheekbones, a wide (broad and flat) forehead, and almond-shaped eyes (with a pronounced and noticeable fold in the eyelids that gives them a distinctly oriental appearance) of dark color. The neck is short, and the shoulders are wide.
These physical characteristics could be modified by magical and/or ritual influences, as they would alter the eye position to achieve strabismus, which, according to Diego de Landa, was caused by placing wax beads in front of children’s eyes.
Cranial deformation was practiced on children, taking advantage of the fact that the bones, between the first week of birth and two years of age, are not fully fused and are malleable (there were two variants of cranial deformation). Skull deformation by elongation was achieved by placing two boards, one on the forehead and the other on the back of the head (these deformations were practiced on newborns of both sexes and all social classes).
Other customs (which served more magical-spiritual purposes than fashion) included body painting (such as tattoos on the chest, arms, and legs), excoriation or scarification (a technique that involved causing decorative scars), filing and perforation of teeth to insert semiprecious stones (pieces of jade, obsidian, or pyrite), and adornments such as ear ornaments (similar to earrings), pectorals, labrets (in a hole made below the lower lip), headdresses, and so on. It is important to note that tattoos and scarification were privileges of the nobility, priests, and distinguished warriors.
Much of this information comes from the Spanish friar Diego de Landa, who lived during the colonial period. During his stay, he destroyed a significant amount of Maya documentation (as part of the auto de fe in Maní), although he ultimately wrote a book about this civilization (Relación de las cosas de Yucatán).
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