Sting Ray Spines: An Up-Date


#1:Piedras Negras stingray spine (Houston, Escobedo et al. 2000)

The stingray spine is not found perforating the septum of the Old Paddler God at the other end of the canoe. In this example the bone in his septum clearly has a knobby end similar to a bone joint not the single lob base of the sting ray. It is very improbable sting ray spine was inserted in the nose area since the long, saw-edged spine or spines with which the upper side of its tail is armed is very destructive.

In the Maya Vase book, volume 3, a Spondylus shell motif is associated with penis perforation.1 It is obvious, that the Spondylus shell motif indicates a more practical method to be used to collect blood for sacrifices. But why would anyone use a sting ray spine instead of a maguey thorn?

Albert Davletshin of the Oriental Institute in Moscow, Russia wrote a very convincing article about the sting ray spine glyph found on the Mesoweb site. His theory was that since so many spines were found in the pelvic area of the corpses, they were specifically used for blood sacrifice. However, two things are apparent with further research into the subject. The first, that the sting ray spines have a serrated edge that breaks off if the spine is pulled out of the body cavity. and second, that the sting ray spine has quite a bit of venom along the spine.2

In the web-based article on sting ray fish, the following can be found:
One spine that we examined had about 40 saw teeth on each edge. As the manta ray ages, "the tail becomes very rough finally, with conspicuous thorns along its whole length on its upper side, and rearward from abreast of the tail spines on its lower side." The barbs facilitate the tearing of the ray's integumentary sheath and the broadening of the victim's wound. Barbs also work like a backwards pointing fish hook and make disengagement more time consuming and traumatic. When it pierces a body cavity, death is assured. Envenomation occurs when the tip of the spine penetrates the ray's integumentary sheath and lacerates the skin of the victim simultaneously.3

Since the native people in South America where these fish are found have a healthy respect for the manta ray fish and are absolutely terrified by them,4 [considering the often casual attitudes towards the vast number of other dangerous creatures in their realm], it would also stand to reason that a spine found near the pelvic area might just mean that the ruler died of the whip lash in the water, just as Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter had.recently passed over to the great crocodile land in the sky.5 The [sting ray] glyph functions like a nametag and has a logographic meaning. The inscription on the stingray 2003 Glyph for Stingray Spine.from Piedras Negras may be read and interpreted as the following: 'u - STING RAY SPINE - (na) . . . (?) - ya 'a- ku ch'o-k(o) K'IN-(ni)- 'AJAW "this is the stingray spine of . . . Ahku'l, K'ihna' prince" .(Fig. 3).6
The questions mark is probably a common verb, i.e. "This is the sting ray spine that ended [the rule of] Ahkul, K'ihna prince."

Jacques Soustelle, a French anthropologist, commented that many "agave thorns were found in the shrine[s]."7 Apparently, it was only the affluent that could afford the taxes on the Spondylus shell imports from the Pacific Ocean. In 1944, Salvador de Madariaga, very familiar with the Nahuatl language, wrote the Heart of Jade. Throughout the book he told of the maguey thorn sacrifices of the body parts also.8 Yet, when the anthropologists and archaeologists became more evident, the maguey thorns commonly used for such sacrifices were forgotten. Since sting ray spines were found in the tombs of the great rulers, and assumptions were made as to their use without the normal path of research needed to verify such activity. Because the dead could not be questioned as to how or what use was made of these items, no research was necessarry. In the medical text above, we found that the serrated edges of the spines were so fragil that they would break off when the barb was removed and remain unseen in the body. This type of intrusive poisonous fragments caused amputations and other forms of disfiguration, but when the barb entered a body cavity, death was the usual result.

National Geographic had two articles that included weapons in South America. Both groups of people used the sting ray spines as arrow heads to be inserted into a reed sleeve over the arrow shaft. This made recovery of the shaft a simple procedure: A slight twist and the reed segment would break eaisily, leaving the sting ray spine within the body to cause death.9 Such weapons would eliminate quite a few people in a very short time.

1Taylor, Dicey (1992) Painted Ladies: Costume for Women on Tepeu ceramics. In The Maya Vase Book, Vol. 3:521-523, ed. Justin Kerr. New York: Kerr, refers to blood-letting practices of both men and women.
2Davletshin, Albert, (2007) Glyph for Stingray Spine, Institute for Oriental Studies, Russian State University for the Humanities (Moscow), , www.mesoweb.com/features/davletshin/Spine.pdf,
3 (2007) "The Whip-Tailed Sting Rays. Family Dasyatidae", http://www.gma.org/fogm/Dasyatis_centroura.htm
4Grenard,Steve (2007) "Sting Ray Injuries, Envenomation, and Medical Management," http://www.potamotrygon.de/fremdes/stingray_article.htm,
5BBC [British Broadcasting Company] On the 4th of September 2006, Steve Irwin, 44, died after being struck in the chest by the stingray's barb while he was filming a documentary in Queensland's Great Barrier Reef.
6 Houston, Stephen (Houston, Escobedo et al. 2000: Fig. 3). Stingray spine engraved with hieroglyphs from Piedras Negras Burial 82. Drawing by Houston. Mesoweb:
7 Soustelle, J.(1971) The Four Suns New York: Orion Press Book / Grossman Publisher p. 121: Huitzilopochtli - great sun god (agave thorns in shrine).
8 de Madariaga, Salvador (1944)The Heart of Jade. New York: Creative Age Press. p. 9-10, p. 87, p. 99, and others.
9 Schultz, Harald. (1962) Brazil's Big-Lipped Indians. National Geographic, January 1962, I (121) pp. 130-132 piece of petrified wood for sharpening arrows, rough leaves for sanding new lip disks, monkey bones, caudal spines of the fresh-water sting ray for making arrow points.
Chagnon, Napoleon. (1976) Yanomamo: The True People. National Geographic, August 1976, 2 (150) 212.