In Mesoamerica punches were used in sacrificial or self-sacrifice rituals; in the case of humans, some of the soft parts that were pierced were the ears, tongue, penis, fingers and calves. The blood produced could be collected in fibers of paper or cloth, which were then burned so that in an ethereal form, that is, as incense or smoke, they would reach the gods. They consisted in acts of offerings and reverence to the divine, to give thanks for favors received, atonement for guilt and sometimes to participate in the conservation of the cosmic order. Often they are found to be implicit in transitional rituals, they were practiced collectively in certain festivals and dates. The rulers, priests and warriors were obliged to perform self-sacrifice punctures, the use of earrings or labrets alluded to that indirectly.
The punches were made of various materials, such as hard stones, vegetable or animal spines, claws, animal teeth and long bones, as in this work. Particularly if they are bone remains of human origin, ideas of the death and relic of the ancestors may be implied. The instrument at hand shows a man with a headdress with converging double fretwork alternating its arrangement up or downwards; the headdress continues in the back part, as do the strands of hair that look like a braid. From behind, the individual is seen to be seated, from this angle, in the front the legs are crossed; the hands are resting on the abdomen; it is possible to see a maxtlatl (loincloth).
The fineness of the carving is surprising: the area of the eyebrows stand out in a subtle relief, as well as the eyelids, eyeballs, nose and lips. The detailed work on the figure that adorns the piece highlights its symbolic functions and its feasible association with of an elite. It is likely that the wear on the point indicates that it effectively had been put to practical use.
In Mesoamerica punches were used in sacrificial or self-sacrifice rituals; in the case of humans, some of the soft parts that were pierced were the ears, tongue, penis, fingers and calves. The blood produced could be collected in fibers of paper or cloth, which were then burned so that in an ethereal form, that is, as incense or smoke, they would reach the gods. They consisted in acts of offerings and reverence to the divine, to give thanks for favors received, atonement for guilt and sometimes to participate in the conservation of the cosmic order. Often they are found to be implicit in transitional rituals, they were practiced collectively in certain festivals and dates. The rulers, priests and warriors were obliged to perform self-sacrifice punctures, the use of earrings or labrets alluded to that indirectly.
