Mystery of the elongated skulls

Many ancient cultures practiced skull modification on infants, when the skull was still moldable, several South and Central American cultures were well known for this and still practicing it when Europeans came. One of the more recent issues of Archeology Magazine has a very interesting article about Mayan concepts of beauty and the various forms of modification they used to achieve this. And the Chinese for a good long period of time would bind the feet of infant girls to keep them small. So it wouldn't surprise me in the least to find similar practices in other cultures. As for Akhenaten....... [More]

I can think of two prosaic ideas to explain them off the top of my head (And I am not even an expert in this) : 1. They are examples of birth defects... Deformities that were common in the past but may have become much less common now. 2. The skeletons were buried in such a way that the weight of something above them "Squished" the skulls slowly without breaking them. There are other possible explanations, for example : It was a practice somewhat like the neck braces some African tribes where or the Japanese footbinfing...

reminds me of the Psychlos in the Battlefield Earth movie... That looks like a hybrid species between a Predator and a Klingon, who enjoys stuffing their crotches. All crotch jokes aside, I thought the most common explanation for these cone shaped skulls was a ritual to strap boards or planks around an infant's head during the phase when the skull is soft atop?

I wonder if it's possible to test these sculls to see if they have been modified by binding them.... I would think there might be traces of evidence left....such as ridges or something like that? I've seen someone with a "water head", elongated due to accumulation of liquid on the brain. Those people often had brain damage from the pressure on the brain. But nowadays one won't see that too often, because they have methods to release liquid as soon as it appears..... The guy with the "water head" did have a cone shaped head going upward though, not back like the skulls they found....

it was done by binding from a young age. the way asian women bind their feet or some african people elongate necks. it's no mystery. The Mangbetu live in central Africa, north of the Congo. When the first Europeans entered in this region in the late 19th century, the Mangbetu were accustomed to practicing the elongation of the head. For this, they enveloppaient the skulls of newborns with a cord which was tightened gradually for several months. The elongated heads were collected by the Mangbetu as an expression of beauty and as a sign of intelligence. The Mangbetu people of north-east Democrat... [More]

Research Schlitze the Pinhead

Research Schlitze the Pinhead microcephalic

it was done by binding from a young age. the way asian women bind their feet or some african people elongate necks. it's no mystery. The Mangbetu live in central Africa, north of the Congo. When the first Europeans entered in this region in the late 19th century, the Mangbetu were accustomed to practicing the elongation of the head. For this, they enveloppaient the skulls of newborns with a cord which was tightened gradually for several months. The elongated heads were collected by the Mangbetu as an expression of beauty and as a sign of intelligence. The Mangbetu people of north-east Democrat... [More]

baby in first photo looks quite miserable don't ya think? the Akhenaton reference is correct afaik, many pharoahs share that similar physiology. If it was (merely) a genetic defect, do you think those individuals would aspire to those elevated postions? ... Unless you think the big head somehow impressed the little (normal) head people because they (mis)took it to be 'a sign of intelligence' (ug ug big head must have big brain, ug ug) ..a similar time frame when pyramids and sphinxes were created, which we do not understand the origens of.. (see.. the two do not fit) somebody suggested 'as a s... [More]

baby in first photo looks quite miserable don't ya think? the Akhenaton reference is correct afaik, many pharoahs share that similar physiology. If it was (merely) a genetic defect, do you think those individuals would aspire to those elevated postions? ... Unless you think the big head somehow impressed the little (normal) head people because they (mis)took it to be 'a sign of intelligence' (ug ug big head must have big brain, ug ug) ..a similar time frame when pyramids and sphinxes were created, which we do not understand the origens of.. (see.. the two do not fit) somebody suggested 'as a s... [More]