30 May 2025 / 10 House
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Aztec plugs were enough to split your ears!
Aztec men and women wore big tubular and round earplugs that were special because they showed whether someone was a soldier, a king, a priest, or even a teacher. The man in this picture doesn’t look too happy about his earplug though!
Imagine wearing an earring as thick as your finger. People must have learned to stretch the skin in their ear lobes from an early age.
Earplugs were often made out of bone, leather, wood, gold and even jade or turquoise.
If you were a brave and famous warrior, a member of the vast Aztec army, which of these earrings would you wear?
( Click on more of the pictures in the main text below for examples...)