Cranial modification

Elongated skulls are a phenomenon that continues to elicit fascination and intrigue. The conventional perspective is that ALL elongated skulls are the result of cranial deformation, the intentional modification of the shape of the skull over many years. However, this paper presents evidence that challenges the conventional perspective, namely, the discovery of skulls that already had an elongated shape in utero.

Aiming to study the human skulls and their bones that showed surgical or cult practices, during the Neolithic era, a survey of known Portuguese cases was carried out, proceeding to an anthropological study and its con‑ textual framework, and the respective insertion the European Prehistory context. The study intends to treat the different cases of cranial bone use in its various variants or evidences of symbolic practice during the Neolithic period in order to provide the construction of new interpretations. Different cases of trepanation, skull discs and plaques, as well as masks obtained from the bones of the face will be presented.
Keywords: Cranial Analysis, Cranial Manipulations, Neolithic, Rituals.

La modificación artificial de la cabeza infantil constituye una de las tradiciones más arraigadas del antiguo mundo maya, cuyas practicantes recurrían a procedimientos sofisticados para dejar la cabeza de sus bebés ancha o angosta, larga o alta, esférica o bilobada. La primera parte de esta obra explora, en el marco de los esquemas ideológicos mesoamericanos, los diferentes significados y motivos culturales que una vez deben haber sustentado la modificación cefálica artificial en la sociedad maya. Se discute su papel en la ritualidad cotidiana y su rol en la protección del alma infantil. Por fin, un tercer significado, que denominamos “emblemático”, lo comunican los mismos semblantes modelados que sus portadores lucirían visiblemente a lo largo de su vida. En la segunda parte del libro, los planteamientos generales sobre la modificación cefálica anclan un estudio de casi dos mil cráneos, pertenecientes a diferentes épocas, sitios y regiones mayas y circum-mayas. Una taxonomía formal nueva, adaptada al área de estudio, coadyuva la identificación de las diferentes modalidades técnicas y sus resultados formales. Los patrones y tendencias registradas en este estudio regional subrayan que la modificación cefálica articula los cambios socioculturales que se produjeron en la sociedad maya a lo largo de su larga trayectoria. Todavía durante el período Clásico, las variadas siluetas cefálicas subrayan el papel de las mujeres en la expresión ideológica, quienes parecen emular los semblantes del panteón de las deidades al dar la morfología deseada a la cabeza infantil. Asociaciones culturales más amplias reflejan sorprendentemente la cartografía linguística y étnica de los grupos mayas durante el primer milenio de Nuestra Era. Del mismo modo, las preferencias en los portes anuncian cambios sociales más profundos, como son aquellos que se vinculan con la caida de las hegemonías mayas del Clásico y, naturalmente, la conquista española. Se concluye que la mirada de los antiguos mayas en el espejo de la práctica cefálica es capaz de enriquecer y expander nuestra comprensión de lo maya y los mayas, eso al comunicar aspectos íntimos de la antigua sociedad y su funcionamiento, no a través de sus productos sino directamente a través de que elllos mismos nos comunican a través de su cuerpo.

Theories of Continuing Bonds, and more recently, the Dual Process of
Grieving, have provided new ways of understanding the bereavement
process, and have influenced current practice for counsellors, end-oflife
care practitioners and other professionals. This paper uses these
theories in a new way, exploring their relevance to archaeological
interpretation, with particular reference to the phenomenon of
the plastering of skulls of the deceased in the Neolithic of Southwest
Asia (the Middle East/Near East), suggesting that traditional
archaeological interpretations, which focus on concepts of status and
social organisation, may be missing a more basic reaction to grief and
a desire to keep the dead close for longer.

The social meaning of cranial modification in the Andes has long been debated. Ethnohistoric accounts recorded by Spanish priests and travelers after the conquest assert that within Inca Peru, the practice of cranial modification was related to social status. They claimed that the Inca royal family preferred a particular head shape, and only certain noble families were permitted to reproduce that shape. In contrast, non-elite Inca supposedly practiced strictly local traditions of cranial modification. These claims are routinely cited within modern bioarchaeological reviews of the practice. Such uncritical acceptance of Spanish reports is problematic, given that these accounts are frequently inaccurate, internally inconsistent, and culturally biased. As such, this study aims to determine whether such ethnohistoric accounts of cranial modification are supported by bioarchaeological evidence. Mortuary and cranial data were collected on 386 individuals from eight Imperial Inca period (1400-1532 CE) sites. In addition to assessing the veracity of colonial ethnohistoric accounts, this study seeks to gain a deeper understanding both of Inca society and of the practice of cranial modification.

This paper synthesizes a much longer version in Spanish on Mesoamerican trephining techniques in comparison among cultural areas. Tiesler 2006 ¿Hubo trepanación en la antigua sociedad maya? Una apreciación regional. Antropología Física Latinoamericana 4:169-218.
A special thanks to Joel Skidmore for making this work available to the anglosaxophone readership.

The human skull is a complex structure composed of independent but closely integrated functional units. Within this context, cranial modification, the cultural practice of intentionally altering the shape of the cranial vault through the application of external pressures, is often considered a natural experiment testing the relationship between neurocranial, basicranial, facial, and mandibular growth. Though it is generally accepted that changes in the cranial vault produce changes in the rest of the skull, little work has been done examining the effects of cranial modification on occlusion. As such, this study explores possible associations between cranial modification and the occlusal variables of crowding, displacement, and rotation within an archaeological sample of 64 individuals from the Peruvian southern highlands. Sites included in this study all date to the Imperial Inca period (1400-1532 CE) and are located in the Cusco region.

Results reveal that neither annular nor tabular forms of cranial modification were associated with the occlusal variables of crowding or displacement. However, cranial modification was associated with rotation, with over half of tabular skulls examined exhibiting rotation. These findings suggest that the cascading effects of cranial modification may have also affected certain aspects of the occlusion of the maxillary dentition, and that the dentition may be more closely integrated into the cranial functional matrix than previously thought.

An intentionally modified head is a visually distinctive sign of group identity. In the Migration Period of Europe (4 th-7 th century AD) the practice of intentional cranial modification was common among several nomadic groups, but was strongly associated with the Huns from the Carpathian Basin in Hungary, where modified crania are abundant in archaeological sites. The frequency of modified crania increased substantially in the Mtskheta region of Georgia in this time period, but there are no records that Huns settled here. We compare the Migration Period modified skulls from Georgia with those from Hungary to test the hypothesis that the Huns were responsible for cranial modification in Georgia. We use extended eigenshape analysis to quantify cranial outlines, enabling a discriminant analysis to assess group separation and identify morphological differences. Twenty-one intentionally modified skulls from Georgia are compared with sixteen from Hungary, using nineteen unmodified crania from a modern population as a comparative baseline. Results indicate that modified crania can be differentiated from modern unmodified crania with 100% accuracy. The Hungarian and Georgian crania show some overlap in shape, but can be classified with 81% accuracy. Shape gradations along the main eigenvectors indicate that the Hungarian crania show little variation in cranial shape, in accordance with a two-bandage binding technique, whereas the Georgian crania had a wider range of variation, fitting with a diversity of binding styles. As modification style is a strong signifier of social identity, our results indicate weak Hunnic influence on cranial modification in Georgia and are equivocal about the presence of Huns in Georgia. We suggest instead that other nomadic groups such as Alans and Sarmatians living in this region were responsible for modified crania in Georgia.

An intentionally modified head is a visually distinctive sign of group identity. In the Migration Period of Europe (4 th -7 th century AD) the practice of intentional cranial modification was common among several nomadic groups, but was strongly associated with the Huns from the Carpathian Basin in Hungary, where modified crania are abundant in archaeological sites. The frequency of modified crania increased substantially in the Mtskheta region of Georgia in this time period, but there are no records that Huns settled here. We compare the Migration Period modified skulls from Georgia with those from Hungary to test the hypothesis that the Huns were responsible for cranial modification in Georgia. We use extended eigenshape analysis to quantify cranial outlines, enabling a discriminant analysis to assess group separation and identify morphological differences. Twenty-one intentionally modified skulls from Georgia are compared with sixteen from Hungary, using nineteen unmodified crania from a modern population as a comparative baseline. Results indicate that modified crania can be differentiated from modern unmodified crania with 100% accuracy. The Hungarian and Georgian crania show some overlap in shape, but can be classified with 81% accuracy. Shape gradations along the main eigenvectors indicate that the Hungarian crania show little variation in cranial shape, in accordance with a two-bandage binding technique, whereas the Georgian crania had a wider range of variation, fitting with a diversity of binding styles. As modification style is a strong signifier of social identity, our results indicate weak Hunnic influence on cranial modification in Georgia and are equivocal about the presence of Huns in Georgia. We suggest instead that other nomadic groups such as Alans and Sarmatians living in this region were responsible for modified crania in Georgia.