Elongatedskull - Blog Posts
Research on the Elongated Skulls
There is evidence of elongated skulls in many different places around the world. In Egypt, these skulls are often found in graves from the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. They are also found in Peru and have been used in religious ceremonies for centuries. In North America, many Native communities have traditionally worn these types of headdresses and jewelry. The presence of elongated skulls in ancient history proves that human anatomy has been changing for thousands of years.
The Egyptians appear to have used the elongated skulls as ornaments for their tombs. ‘‘The priests of the time believed that the gods would transfer their souls to the bodies of their ancestors after they died, so it was important to provide the deceased with nice things to help them reach the afterlife. They also may have had practical uses. They believed they used them to drain water from their underground temples, prone to flooding. The Indigenous people’s of Peru also used the elongated skulls as grave goods. Because they believed that the spirits of their dead ancestors resided inside the skulls, they were buried with these artifacts near the head of the body to aid their passage into the afterlife. According to the Inca civilization, it was up to the priests to pass judgment on whether or not a person was worthy enough to enter the afterlife. They also used the skulls for divination and a good luck charm to protect them from harm.’’
There are many theories about how elongated skulls came to exist. One theory is that they are the remains of an extinct race of people that lived on Earth thousands of years ago. These "giants" may have lived alongside the Native Americans or descended from an earlier human civilization during the Ice Age. Another theory is that they were created artificially using clay, metal, or wood molds. ‘‘As the Spanish colonized the Americas, many different cultures were exposed to new ideas about science and medicine. As a result, many of these people began experimenting with new ways to create artificial body parts. Besides tattooing, intentional scarring, piercing, and teeth sharpening, intentional cranial deformation is another form of mutilation of the human body and is associated with the cultural background of society. It has been related to religion, aestheticism, beauty, or facilitating tribal identity.’’
