![]() | ![]() |
Clothing was worn according to social status in Mesoamerica since living in the tropics required little clothing. Therefore, clothing became a part of a person's identity. Materials such as quetzal feathers and jaguar skins were used only by those who had wealth and privilege. Sorenson notes, "The wealthy used sumptuous fabrics and inventive decoration to place themselves visually atop a hierarchy of prestige and privilege and to display icons that signaled their social roles" (Images, 88). In other words, kings, rulers, priests, or warriors could be identified just by looking at their clothing.