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Scarification

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

  • 44 Accesses

Synonyms

Carving; Laceration; Cutting; Permanent marking

Definition

Burning/Branding/Scratching/Images or designs into the skin

Introduction

A subsection of body modification that signifies complex costly signaling is scarification. Today ornate scarification is an integral part of the body ornamentation community, yet it has historic roots reaching far back into our evolutionary history. Before individuals began using scarification to systematically ornament their body, scars were the outcome of (sometimes battle) wounds. They were maps to an individuals’ past, each telling a story of past hardships. Some particularly large scars can indicate near death experiences in which an individual overcame great odds to remain alive. Humans quickly realized that the momentary pain of cutting the skin in an artistic fashion resulted in permanent ornate designs in the skin via scarification.

Scarification as a Right of Passage

In Australia, scarification practices are practiced among Aboriginal...

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References

  • Carmen, R. A., Guitar, A.E., Dillon, H. M. (2012). Ultimate answers to proximate questions: The evolutionary motivations behind tattoos and body piercings in popular culture. Review of General Psychology, 16(2), 134–143.

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  • Stirn, A. (2003). Body Piercing: Medical consequences and psychological motivations. The Lancet, 363, 1205–1215.

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  • Zahavi, A. & Zahavi, A. (1997). The handicap principle: A missing piece of Darwin’s puzzle. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY, USA

    Rachael A. Carmen

  2. Dominican College, Orangeburg, NY, USA

    Haley Dillon

Authors
  1. Rachael A. Carmen
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  2. Haley Dillon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rachael A. Carmen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Gary L Brase

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Carmen, R.A., Dillon, H. (2018). Scarification. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1897-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1897-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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