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MEXICAN ARCHÆOLOGY

pigtail. In Mexico men of rank, being warriors, cut the hair, and brushed it up on the right side (Pl. LX, 4), while chiefs cropped most of the head, leaving a long lock on the forehead which they kept erect by means of a fillet (Pl. IX, 5). Of Montecuzoma we read, "He did not wear his hair long, but so as just to cover his ears." In Mexico women of rank sometimes wore the hair plaited and crossed on the forehead in two "horns," but ordinarily it was allowed to grow and was worn loose. Ear-ornaments were almost universal, in the form of plugs of stone, gold and turquoise; while lip-plugs were found among the Mexicans, Otomi and Totonac (see Fig. 18, b; p. 118). At Mexico the lips of children were pierced on admission to the Calmecac, and the status of a man could be judged by the quality of his lip-plug. Shell and obsidian marked the lower ranks, while gold and gems were reserved for the higher orders of nobility; most prized of all were those of chalchiuitl, or of crystal, the latter being hollow and containing a blue feather. Nose ornaments were not so common, and were especially associated with the Huaxtec; they are however frequently seen in the representations of Mexican goddesses (especially those borrowed from the Huaxtec) and consisted for the most part of gold plates, often in the form of a butterfly, or of golden tubes. Of the tremendous variety of ornaments worn round neck and arms and attached to the garments, it is impossible to write in detail, but some idea of their variety may be gathered from the following passage of Sahagun, describing the dance performed by men and women of the warrior-class in the month Uei tecuilhuitl. "The women were clad in rich and costly robes and skirts ornamented with elaborate embroidery . . . Of the robes . . . some were white without designs, and the upper opening of these was bordered with deep fringes which covered the whole breast, and the fringes of the