Making Their Mark Tattooing and Scarification in the Aegean Bronze Age.

Making Their MarkTattooing and Scarification in the Aegean Bronze Age

Neolithic Tattooing and

Scarification

Figure 1 Figure 2

Female seated clay figurine from Late Neolithic, Franchthi Cave. (Left)

Kourotrophic clay figurine from Late Neolithic. Found in Thessaly. (Right)

Early Cycladic I PeriodEarly Cycladic marble figure from Keros, Kavos (Left)

Early Cycladic marble figure. No known find spot. (Middle)

Early Cycladic marble figure from Keros, Kavos (Right)

Early Cycladic I PeriodBritish Museum

At least 5 rows of dots across forehead

9 or more rows across the cheeks, which then continue below nose

Back of head – blue-on-red dots bordered what appeared to be a square which indicated hair that is no longer visible

NY Private Collection

2 rows of dots across forehead

As many as 7 rows on cheeks

2 rows of faint dots on chin

Down nose is stripe (also blue-over-red)

Plank Figures

Single-headed plank figure from Lapithos, tomb 201 (Left)

Cradle plank figure. Unknown origin. (Right)

Sphinx Head Cult Center at Mycenae

Plaster head

Painting Style and colors reminiscent of fresco paintings

4 dot rosettes – forehead, each check, and chin

The Sphinx Head

House of Idols

Materials/Tools Obsidian

Copper pins

Awls

Stone palettes and pestles

Mini-arbioloi

Bone tubes

Pigments – cinnabar, ochre, azurite, malachite (?)

Tools – Obsidian Blades

Tools - Copper Needles

Tomb nine in cemetery of Early Cycladic I Plastiras

Used for tattooing skin

Tools - Awls Small pointed tool used for piercing holes

Tomb 26 from the Early Bronze Age II site Louros Athalassou in southwestern Naxos contained 3 copper or bronze awls

Kampos Group cemetery of Ayioi Anargyroi has a small bronze awl

Kampos Group cemetery of Ayioi Anargyroi

Tools - Stone Pestles and Palettes

Tomb 356 in Chalandriani (EBA II)

Grinding and preparing pigments for tattooing

Tools - Mini-arbioloi

Special ceramic container for pigments

Tomb 26 from the Early Bronze Age II site Louros Athalassou in southwestern Naxos

Tools – Bone Tubes Held pigment

Tomb 356 of Chalandriani (EBAII Cycladic)

Materials - Cinnabar Used to make red coloring

Figure from British Museum

Rare – valuable and symbolically powerful

Vibrant color

Could turn black with exposure to light; metacinnabar

Materials - ochre Used to make red color

Easily accessible in Aegean

Materials - azurite Blue pigment

Copper mineral

Valuable based on how they treated pigment

Materials - Malachite Green pigment

Found in copper ores

Rarest used of three colors

Not much analysis done on green pigment so not much is known about it and if Malachite was even used to create coloring

Evidence for Human Tattooing and Scarification

Obsidian blades found in grave show evidence of cutting soft to medium-soft substances, which could include skin

Evidence for Human Tattooing - Egypt

Tattooed mummy from Thebes, Egypt from late 3rd millennium

Location and Meaning Location of motifs as well as what the motif was most likely

had some sort of significance

Belly – tied to pregnancy? Protection for mother and child? Zigzags and nonanatomical eyes

Nonanatomical eyes – bring more attention to area. More sight power?

Zigzags – upper arm or legs Bring attention, more strength? Tribal, community, or individual identification?

Purpose for Tattooing Purpose is not certain, but there are theories

Form of identification that accompanied an increase of contact with outside cultures

Mark personal events, status, or record crucial messages, often accompanied rituals

Issues With Evidence Tattoos/Scarification or

clothes or body paint?

It would not seem likely a zigzag pattern would have survived from Neolithic to Early Cycladic as a tattoo design. More likely it would represent a belt, which would have existed in both time periods