Jewels, Flowers, and Paper Bows: Ornaments on Instruments for Sacrifice and Self-Sacrifice in Nahua Prehispanic Art

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Sacrificial and Autosacrifice Instruments in Mesoamerica: Symbolism and Technology" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

By analyzing the codices, ceramics, and pre-Hispanic sculpture, it is possible to identify different instruments employed both for the extraction of blood itself and for the sacrifice of victims. In these sources, maguey spines, bone awls, flint knives, and even the quadrangular stones where the victims lay during the sacrifice were adorned with jade or turquoise beads, flowers, paper bows, and feathers, among other symbolic elements. These ornaments manifested concepts of fertility, preciousness, perfection, blood, sacrifice, and self-sacrifice. However, there is a distinction between the artifacts destined for sacrifice and those intended for self-sacrifice, since they form sets not only for their function but also for their ornaments. Likewise, the archaeological context has revealed the existence of bejeweled bone awls, suggesting that the artifacts used for ritual penance could have been lavishly adorned as shown in the artistic images, reinforcing both their purpose and their symbolism.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Sacrificial and Autosacrifice Instruments in Mesoamerica: Symbolism and Technology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39730.0