Making Their Mark Tattooing 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 Period Early 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 Period British 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 3 rd 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