Ancient Maya teeth : dental modification, cosmology, and social identity in Mesoamerica /
"Dental modification was common across ancient societies, but perhaps none were more avid practitioners than the Maya. They filed their teeth flat or pointy, polished and drilled them, and crafted decorative inlays of jade and pyrite. Unusually, Maya of all social classes, ages, and professions...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Austin :
University of Texas Press,
2024.
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| Edition: | First edition. |
| Series: | Linda Schele series in Maya and pre-Columbian studies.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | "Dental modification was common across ancient societies, but perhaps none were more avid practitioners than the Maya. They filed their teeth flat or pointy, polished and drilled them, and crafted decorative inlays of jade and pyrite. Unusually, Maya of all social classes, ages, and professions engaged in dental modification. What did it mean to them? Ancient Maya Teeth is the most comprehensive study of Maya dental modification ever published, based on thousands of teeth recovered from 130 sites spanning three millennia. Esteemed archaeologist Vera Tiesler sifts the evidence--much of it gathered with her own hands and illustrated here with more than a hundred photographs. Exploring the underlying theory and practice of dental modification, Tiesler raises key questions. How did modifications vary across the individual's lifespan? What tools were used? How did the Maya deal with pain--and malpractice? How did they keep their dentitions healthy, functioning, and beautiful? What were the relationships among gender, social identity, and particular dental-modification choices? Addressing these and other issues, Ancient Maya Teeth reveals how dental-modification customs shifted over the centuries, indexing other significant developments in Mayan cultural history"-- |
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| Physical Description: | xv, 229 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 29 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-218) and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781477327579 1477327576 |