Two ancient Maya tattooing tools from Actun Uayazba Kab, Roaring Creek Valley, Belize

Abstract

Our knowledge that the ancient Maya tattooed themselves for significant social and ceremonial reasons is primarily based on ethnohistoric accounts and Classic Maya imagery. Notably, the tattooing implements they used have gone undetected in the archaeological record. Based on tool form, use-wear, and residues, two retouched chert burin spalls recovered from travertine pools on an upper ledge (Ledge 1) of Actun Uayazba Kab (Handprint Cave), Belize, are interpreted as lithic artifacts used for this purpose. The recovery of these implements from a cave raises questions about the ritual nature and context of ancient Maya tattooing in the Classic period (AD 250–900).