In 2005 a detached statuary was found that had young female features, of natural size, decapitated and with elaborate reliefs on the shoulders, breasts and thighs. The “Venus of Tamtoc” or “Scarified Woman” was found submerged in a pond at the foot of Monument 32, in the archeological site of Tamtoc, in San Luis Potosí. This magnificent piece is evidence of multiple cultural and historical processes that touch the past and present of the Huasteca, from the trade routes to concepts of cosmovision.
The interpretation given by archeological studies is that this is the case of a young woman with scars made by points lined up in bands and diamonds, on the shoulders and thighs, respectively. The scars are marks on the body made by hurting or cutting the skin in order to create a puffy design. During Prehispanic times, sharp stone objects, such as obsidian or flint, were used to make cuts and stones, dirt or charcoal, were put into the cuts, making the scar bigger. This technique of corporal modification was common among several Mesoamerican groups, as evidenced in la Huasteca, the west of Mexico and the Mayan area. One of the aspects attributed to corporal modifications and adornments was to show the individual’s social status, in other words, his or her belonging to a specific group, mostly the elite. In the case of the Scarified Woman of Tamtoc, the hypothesis still stands that she is not a deity, but an elite woman who served as a priestess, though both identities tend to meld in ritual life.
The scarifications on this woman hold cosmological meanings connected to subsistence activities, mainly agricultural. On the one hand, there are 52 points on each shoulder, a number associated with Mesoamerican calendars. On the other hand, in some contexts, the diamonds are associated with vegetal elements or with maize. Currently, Mesoamerican cultures believe the diamond shape to be a cosmological figure: a quincunx shaped by four corners and a center. Through textiles, such as the quechquémitl, women incorporate this cosmic symbolism, putting their head in the middle.
The place where the sculpture was found also gives us relevant information, because it ensures its relationship to water, and possibly to the underworld. The piece was fragmented – decapitated and its higher and lower extremities mutilated – possibly to suggest dismemberment and ritual sacrifice. The sculpted details and where the Scarified Woman was left point to a propitiatory offering to water.
Altogether, these elements reinforce the idea that women carry in their very bodies nature, fertility, time and fecundity. A young woman represents the power and image of the earth and the Moon, a changing star whose phases are reflected in women’s lives, with their continuous cycles of generation and death, fertility and old age.