dark/light skin color differences in pre- and post-conquest Mexico

[Dodds, Dr C.E.]

Further to Kier's email, Diaz also talks about the hair being matted. He says 'Their hair was very long and so tangled that it could not have been parted unless they had cut it first. Moreover, it was all clotted with the blood which oozed from their ears, for they had offered them as a sacrifice that day.' (p.173 in the Penguin edition) I have never seen any mention of the black of the priests being related to blood on the skin, however. And if I remember rightly there are a number of mentions of them specifically being 'painted' black. (With soot I think?) It is true that blood goes blackish when dry and as the priests didn't wash then it's not impossible. I don't remember ever having seen a reference to this, however.

Caroline
--------------
Dr. Caroline Dodds
Lecturer in Early Modern History
School of Historical Studies
University of Leicester
University Road
Leicester
LE1 7RH

email: ced22 at le.ac.uk
http://www.le.ac.uk/history/people/ced22.html

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