The Mayans Were Prolific Tattoo Artists
Everything in Mayan culture was in some way connected to the gods, including their tattoos. Getting a tattoo is a painful process. Due to the lack of knowledge in germ theory, Mayan tattoos often resulted in infection and sickness. However, this was considered part of the process. A tattoo had sacred meaning. Getting one and enduring the pain and illness was part of the sacrifice to appease the gods.
They were encouraged to not show pain during the process. This was to achieve admiration and higher status. The Mayan process would have been considerably more painful than the contemporary one. An image was painted on the individual, then cuts were made along the pattern. It scarred into a colorful tattoo. Men and women got tattoos, and they could be found anywhere on their chest, back, arms, legs, or faces.
