ear-cutting-punishment
Ear cutting is described as a historical punishment used to shame and mark low-status individuals such as slaves, criminals, and vagrants.
1 chapter across 1 book
Identify and Sort: How Digital Power Changed World Politics (2016)Josef Teboho Ansorge
The chapter traces the historical and political significance of the ear as a site of identification, punishment, and social sorting, from ancient practices of ear cutting used to mark slaves, criminals, and low-status individuals, to its role in property marking of livestock and humans. It highlights the transition from visible, punitive bodily mutilations to sophisticated biometric identification systems, including forensic and digital ear biometrics, illustrating how these evolving practices serve sovereign power by enabling classification, social exclusion, and control. The ear thus symbolizes broader shifts in identification regimes, reflecting the interplay of power, technology, and social hierarchy.