Artificial Cranial Modification in the Ancient World

Carl T. FeagansBioarchaeology

Anthropology 5349Final Paper

May 12, 2009

Carl T. Feagans

Artificial Cranial Modification in the Ancient World

The practice of artificially modifying the human skull has been a part of human culture as far back as 45,000 years BP (Trinkaus1982), and it has been shown to occur on every inhabited continent (Dingwall 1942; Ortner 2003). Two primary forms of artificially modifying the human skull include trephination, the deliberate and surgical creation of a hole in the cranial vault, and the application of pressure on the crania of infants or toddlers to reshape the cranial vault from its natural form. Various hypotheses exist to explain the origins and reasons for these practices in human cultures in both the ancient and modern worlds, but none appear to be conclusive, though several do seem to be compelling when reviewed in the light of other archaeological and ethnographic data.

Trephination

Trephination as a practice in prehistory was first noted by E. George Squier in 1865 (Andrushko and Verano 2008; Fernando and Finger 2002) but has been shown to exist in most inhabited regions of the world and in periods of human history and prehistory as far back as the Neolithic (Finger and Clower 2002; Walker 1997). Trephining is the act of surgically perforating in the skull for perceived therapeutic purposes (Ortner 2003) and the term is often used interchangeably with "trepanation," however, Ortner makes an effort to differentiate between "trephination" and "trepanation." The latter refers to the act of creating a perforation by use of an instrument. The former indicates that a section of bone is actually removed from the skull. The term "trepanation" is derived from the Greek term trypan, meaning "to pierce" (Knowles 1903).

Squier's Incan skull is one that shows a scraping of the frontal bone in four regions such that a rectangular piece of bone was removed as a result (fig. 1). The instrument used was likely an obsidian or chert blade and the perforation exhibits no indication of healing so the patient very likely died during the procedure. The discovery of this skull created a sensation within the archaeological and historical community (Fernando and Finger 2002), the sentiment at the time creating an expectation that cranial surgery by "primitives" or "savages" would be a complex task far removed from their abilities. Squier's example was a clear and indisputable example of human ingenuity, knowledge and understanding in the ancient world, not to be confused with prior skulls which were suggested, but never concluded, to be trephined due to ambiguous and misunderstood morphology, perhaps due to healed nature of remodeled bone. Squire's discovery was not healed and the cross-hatch pattern was, unmistakably, an intentional modification of a human skull by human hands.

Squier's discovery inspired and fascinated Paul Broca in France, who thought very highly of Squier and his work (Fernando and Finger 2002). Broca presented the skull to his colleagues in Paris in 1867 and was fascinated not only with the idea of pre-Columbian Peruvians performing cranial surgery but with the reason for the surgery to begin with. The shared

2

Carl T. Feagans

hypothesis between Squier and Broca wass that an injury associated with a sharp weapon requiring immediate attention and relief motivated the surgery. Broca's fascination with the trephined skull from Peru was perhaps instrumental in his ability to recognize the practice of trephining in the Neolithic skulls recovered by his associate P. Barthelemy Prunieres, which dated to approximately 5,000 - 5,500 years ago (Fernando and Finger 2002; Finger and Clower 2002). Initially, the holes in these skulls were thought to be postmortem cuts designed to permit the skulls to be used as ritualistic drinking vessels. However, Broca noted the smoothed portion of bone that was believed by Prunieres to be polished for drinking, was actually healed bone and that the individual was trephined during his lifetime and survived the process long enough to begin the healing.

Also discovered at the site were small discs of bone, rounded and polished near the skulls. Because of their ovoid and generally round appearance, these bits of bone, removed from trephined holes, were called "rondelles." The term was coined by Prunieres (Finger and Clower 2002) and still in use today. His hypothesis, also still in use, was that they were removed from the skulls of individuals while alive and worn as jewelry or adornments to ward off demons or spirits. Broca and Prunieres had differing ideas of what began the practice of trephination: Prunieres believed Neolithic surgeons observed over time the cause and effect of cranial injuries and discovered that the bone itself caused problems and that trephining the injury site would relieve the pain, convulsions, delirium, etc. of the patient. Broca, however, believe that their motivations were superstition and not science. This he based on the fact that evidence of injuries was absent, signs of fractures weren't there. In developing this hypothesis, Broca considered modern “primitives” that he was aware of like the Kabyle Berbers of North Africa, reasoning that Neolithic societies were likely to behave as modern “primitives” who associated superstitious causes to actual ailments and were known to perform trephination to remove evil spirits and demons. Broco hypothesized that Neolithic surgeons reacted first to superstition then recognized the therapeutic advantages of trephination.

This hypothesis still has traction today ( Finger and Clower 2002; Han and Chen 2007; Sankhyan and Weber 2002; Ortner 2003; Smith 1990) and is mentioned in a report of the analysis of a skull from a Neolithic woman found in Burzahom, India which dates to between 4300 to 4000 BCE (Sankhyan and Weber 2002). This skull exhibits 11 attempted and successful trephinations (fig. 2) each circular or oval and up to 14 mm in diameter. Osteogenesis and sclerosis were not evident, therefore the trephinations must have been done consecutively and in a short period of time by the individual's death. One of the hypotheses that Sankhyan and Weber discuss involves magico-religious practices and the need to obtain rondelles for cranial amulets. Supporters of this hypothesis point out the skeleton was treated with red ochre. Sankhyan and Weber point out, however, that most Neolithic Phase II skeletons are treated with red ochre, both human and animal. In addition, rondelles could easily have been obtained from the unsuccessful trephinations on the skull with deeper cuts, but these cuts aren't present -nor are there examples in India of the use of rondelles for magico-religious purposes.

3

Carl T. Feagans

No clear evidence for the casting out of evil spirits, demons, devils or other superstitious motivations appear to exist in the archaeological record to date and the idea remains an hypothesis, though one that may be intuitive given the superstitious nature that can exist among human culture as pointed out by Broca (Finger and Clower 2002). The intuitiveness of the hypothesis is such that it appears in both academic and popular texts and writings. Comer (2009), in his Abnormal Psychology, discusses the idea that South Americans (ostensibly the Inca) used trephination as a supernatural response to severe abnormal behaviors such as hallucinations or melancholia and he goes on to equate the practice to Western exorcisms. Han and Chen (2007) mention supernatural motives only as one of several hypotheses, noting that the practice of obtaining rondelles in prehistoric Europe and more recently in Africa was done on postmortem skulls. The other three hypotheses Han and Chen mention are: therapeutic surgeries for head injuries; surgical procedures to alleviate headaches, epilepsy, insanity and Down's syndrome; and for “longevity and fashion reasons.” In the skulls they evaluated, Han and Chen discovered that many exhibited evidence of skull fracture, supporting the head injury hypothesis.

In support of the findings of Han and Chen, Andrushko and Verano (2008) analyzed 66 skulls obtained from 11 Cuzco-region burials in Peru, which exhibited 109 trephinations in all. Most of the methods of trephining these skulls included circular cutting and scraping. They discovered the survival rate among the individuals they analyzed to be 83% evidenced by the well-healed bone of most individuals, some of which exhibited multiple, well-healed trephinations. The key hypothesis Andrushko and Verano set out to test was that use of trephination as a medical treatment as opposed to cultural motivations.

What they discovered was that great care was taken to promote healing and prevent infection. The perforations were positioned on the cranial vault so as to avoid musculature and vulnerable regions of the skull like the temporal bones and the nuchal planum of the occipital bone. On one one of the individuals that didn't survive the trephination, a “clump of organic material” was found over the perforation which also included the reinsertion of the excised bone in the cranium. Andrushko and Verano noted the lack of evidence for infection in the skulls they examined and hypothesized that this may have been limited through the application of antiseptics like balsam, saponins, cinnamic acid, and tannin. In support of one of their primary hypotheses, Andrushko and Verano found that 44% of the skulls they examined displayed evidence of cranial trauma adjacent to the site of trephination, supporting the notion that trephinations among these individuals were motivated by medical treatment rather than cultural practices expected of magico-religious reasons. They also note that trephining can “obliterate” evidence of injury through the removal of fractured bone, indicating that there could have existed injuries among the trephined skulls which are no longer evident. In addition they noted the presence of mastoiditis three skulls that were trephined, which could imply that injury might not be the only motivation for medical trephination among this population.

Whether a cultural practice for magico-religious purposes, which satisfy superstitions and attempt to appease the supernatural, or a logical, reasoned, and therapeutic response to a medical

4

Carl T. Feagans

problem, trephination has been a part of human culture since at least the Neolithic. In the Near East, trephined skulls were found which dated to about 7,000 BCE. Hippocrates writes of the practice in 460-377 BCE:

...the contusion, whether the bone be laid bare or not; and the fissure, whether apparent or not. And if, when an indentation by a weapon takes place in a bone it be attended with fracture and contusion, and even if contusion alone, without fracture, be combined with the indentation, it requires trepanning...those [bones] which are most pressed and broken require trepanning the least (Hippocrates 1849).

Of interest to anthropologists and archaeologists is the notion that humans as early as the Neolithic may have already made a link between behavior and the mind with the contents of the skull (Fernando and Finger 2002). While many authors on the topic of trephination include the hypothesis of magico-religious necessity in their works, none demonstrate conclusively that it was the primary or necessary reason for the practice in prehistory. And, while this hypothesis is also not ruled out, there is ample evidence that other motivations were certainly at work.

Skull Shaping

In addition to cranial surgery, another artificial modification of the human skull present in the archaeological record, which is perhaps better known, is skull shaping. Like trephination, this practice of modifying the shape of the human skull is present on every inhabited continent and at various periods in human history and prehistory. It even appears in the archaeological record of Neanderthals (Trinkaus 1982). Like trephination, several hypotheses exist to offer explanations why this practice was done. And, like trephination, the likelihood of a given hypothesis seems to have more or less probability depending upon the culture being examined.

The human skull can be artificially modified either intentionally or unintentionally. Unintentional occurrences usually involve the use of cradle boards (Cheverud and Midkiff 1992; Tiesler 1999; Fletcher et al 2008), a device used by parents, usually mothers, to manage infants while they perform their own day to day tasks. It can be stood up near the mother or worn on her back (fig. 3). The constant pressure on the occipital bone, especially if the habit of binding the infant to the board is employed, causes lateral growth of the skull and “a permanent effect on the skull” (Dingwall 1931). Often in cradle boards and cradles, the infant will routinely and habitually favor a particular head position, depending on the directionality of the light source in the room. Dingwall also notes that accidental deformation can result from carrying the infant tightly to the mother so that the head is “pressed with some force” against the mother's body, resulting in the flattening of one side of the infant's head. Dingwall also points out that unintentional cranial deformation can result from head coverings and head dressing applied just after birth, though he admits it is difficult to know what extent this is intentional or unintentional or whether an unintended practice resulted in an intentional desire to achieve aesthetic results once the culture correlated the cause and effect. Ortner (2003:163) supports Dingwall's

5

Carl T. Feagans

observations and suggests that artificial cranial deformities can be caused by an infant or child being positioned on a hard surface with little movement while sleeping. He continues to suggest that only "slight pressure ... for a few hours per day but over a long period of time" could be sufficient to result in gross cranial deformity.

Cheverud and Midkiff (1992) describe intentional skull shaping as “the intentional alteration of cranial development by application of external appliances which constrain expansive growth of the neurocranium to particular dimensions and regions … usually performed to achieve some culturally defined ideal form.”

Intentional modification of cranial shape appears to occur on every inhabited continent. Ortner (2003) makes note of its prevalence in the ancient and modern world, stating that it exists in some form on every continent but excludes Australia. This contradicts other researchers, however, and Hisock (2007) summarizes bioarchaeological research of the 1980s and 1990s which concludes that intentional cranial deformation was present at Cooboo Creek, Kow Swamp, and Cohuna in Australia at the Terminal Pleistocene. Ortner likely didn't include these examples since their cranial deformations were previously argued to be examples of unmodified, robust Homo erectus. Recent osteologic research on these skeletons as well as genetic research has concluded that these are Pleistocene H. sapiens with cranial modifications and that they represent one of at least two founding populations, for which cranial modification was a common practice (Hiscock 2007, 95-96; Anton and Weinstein 1999).

For a description of osteological characteristics of the different types of artificial cranial deformations, Neumann (1942) provides six separate types (fig. 4). 1) Obelionic deformation. In this type, the cranial vault between the anterior parietal and the temporal regions are broadened in the plane between the bregma and the lambda. The flattened region is approximately 30-40 degrees compared to the ear-eye plane. 2) Artificial lambdoid flattening. Occipital deformation occurs with an angle of 50-60 degrees to the ear-eye plane. 3) Simple occipital deformation. Neumann suggests this is probably unintentional and his typology here is consistent with cradle-boarding mentioned elsewhere (Ortner 2003; Dingwall 1931). In this type of deformation, the angle of the flattened region on the occipital is near to 90 degrees of the ear-eye plane and often exhibits an asymmetrical appearance. 4) Bifronto-occipital deformation. This is a bilateral flattening that results in a narrow frontal bone and often associated with a moderate degree of vertical flattening on the occipital bone. 5) Fronto-vertico-occipital deformation. Pronounced flattening of the frontal bone along with simple vertical flattening of the occipital bone. 6) Fronto-parieto-occipital deformation. In this type, three planes are flattened, nearly at right angles. This type differs from the previous in that cranial development is impeded on the superior regions of the parietals causing compensatory development in a lateral direction. 7) Parallelo-fronto-occipital deformation. In this type, Neumann suggests that development in the occipital region is affected by the placement of “a pad a the base of the occiput in such a manner as to produce rough parallelism with that of the frontal bone.” Lateral cranial development as compensation results.

6

Carl T. Feagans

Neumann's research was primarily focused on sites in the Eastern United States and, thus, his observations of morphological types was limited those relevant and present. In other parts of the ancient world, somewhat different morphological types exist. Blom (2005) describes cranial modification as a cultural practice in southern Peru and includes fronto-occipital modification similar to that described by Neumann as a type that exists there as well, but she also notes an additional, “distinctly different,” form, which she refers to as annular-oblique and is thus described by Blom.

The annular oblique type is considerably different from the fronto-occipital types of cranial modification and would have produced a visible difference in head shape. An elongated, tubular vault, produced by circumferential compression from bands of textiles that encircled the frontal, temporal, parietal (below the temporal line) and occipital bones characterized these crania (Blom 2005: 9).

Blom's study examined the cultural aspects of intentional cranial modification in Peruvian society, focusing on regional differentiations between the Moquegua and Katari valleys. She found that, while the fronto-occipital type of cranial deformation was culturally preferred in the Moquegua valley, it was the annular-oblique type that found favor among those in the neighboring Katari valley. The actual presence of cranial modification between the two regions presented no statistical difference. Both valleys were equally likely to practice cranial deformation. Blom found, however, that when she controlled for the type of deformation the two valleys completely favored one over the other. She also discovered that in the capital city of Tiwanaku in the highlands, both types were present. Previous researchers, she notes, considered the difference in forms at Tiwanaku as representative of differences in class with the annular form belonging to a priestly class. Blom's research brings this into question and demonstrates the importance of bioarchaeological approaches to examining social complexity and culture in the ancient world.

The intentional skull shaping among the members of Tiwanaku society occurred at around 500 – 1100 CE (Blom 2005), but the practice is far older and has even been demonstrated to have occurred among Neanderthal society at around 45,000 years ago (Trinkaus 1982) and thus, as a practice, intentional cranial modification may not have been limited to recent humans. Trinkaus describes two cranial vaults that “exhibit contours that contrast with those of other Neandertals and suggest that they experienced cranial deformation” while still alive. These crania were recovered from Shanidar Cave in Iraq where evidence for the first intentional burial was also discovered. In addition, one of the skeletons recovered at this site demonstrated evidence that others within the society cared for and protected an infirmed member of the society (Trinkaus 1982; Pettitt 2005). Trinkaus concluded that the distinctive shapes of the crania, which are consistent with intentional cranial modification in more recent humans, could not have been “produced by the small amount of postmortem distortion present in the specimens” and the discovery adds to the growing evidence for aesthetic sense already present among early humans.

7

Carl T. Feagans

Intentional skull shaping is also present in the archaeological record throughout Mesoamerica and is often associated with nobility or elites status or, at least, the desire to appear from a noble lineage (Dingwall 1931). In data sets used by Tiesler (1999), it was shown that head shaping was found in over 88% of the crania examined and she notes that the practice is present since the Preclassic (2000 BCE to 250 CE) through the beginning of the Postclassic (c. 900 CE). Tiesler's description is of a society that embraces head shaping for a wide chronological period and with regional and local variations in shape due to varied methods of shaping. She points out that sex was not a determination, females were as likely as male to have intentionally shaped heads, and, in general, there was no elevated social status associated with having a head that was intentionally shaped, however, erect deformation appeared “more frequently at higher levels in the social structure.” Tiesler concludes that while head shaping is an important indicator of social integration and diversity within Mesoamerican society, it isn't necessarily associated to position or status within society.

In looking for an explanation for why humans intentionally shape their skulls, some researchers have turned to ethnographic studies. Beatrice Blackwood and P. M. Danby (1955) of the University of Oxford presented their ethnographic findings to the Second International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences held in Copenhagen in 1938 on the intentional cranial deformations performed by the people on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. There, the Arawe people practiced head-binding of infants to produce a very characteristic elongation of the cranial vault which varies depending upon the method by which the binding materials are applied to the infant skull (fig. 5). Cranial vaults Blackwood and Danby described very much resembled the fronto-occipital and annular crania of the Inca skulls described by Blom (2005).

Blackwood and Danby (1955) assert that the practice among the Arawe was “purely an aesthetic one” and had no magico-religious or class motivations associated with it. There were no rituals or or ceremonies involved and appeared to be done simply because it was found aesthetically pleasing and as an established tradition. However, Blackwood and Danby were unable to comment on where the practice originated from since no stories or legends existed among the Arawe to provide any insight, nor was there a written or icongraphic history of the practice to examine. It was noted in their report that nearly every child, regardless of sex, had their head bound to induce an elongated shape, but they also reported that a tiny but growing minority abstained from the practice, perhaps do to the influence of Christian missionaries and increasing contact with populations outside of the Arawe region. For the majority that continued the practice, the bindings were applied almost immediately following birth. The binding is made from the stem of a vine called talis and wrapped many times around the cranium starting just above the eyes and around the back of the head. Blackwood and Danby don't describe the point at which the bands pass on the back of the head, but Dingwall (1931, p.138) describes bindings in Melanesia as passing around the occiput. As a cultural practice, Blackwood and Danby point out that the bindings are “removed every day, at the discretion of the mother” and that the child

8

Carl T. Feagans

is treated with a “black paint, applied by the mother's palm, with considerable pressure on the forehead.” Blackwood and Danby describe in their observations a child exhibiting pronounced deformation at only one day old, which is consistent with Ortner's (2003) suggestion that deformation can occur in just a short amount of time. Still, Blackwood and Danby state that the bindings are used for up to a year or until the child could “run alone” but observed that the length of time bindings were worn was not consistent from child to child and mother to mother, reminding us that the practice, while cultural, wasn't mandatory and that there were no taboos in avoiding binding which might be associated with magico-religious practices.

Blackwood and Danby also make observations of the effects that binding had on the skulls they examined. While Dingwall (1931) suggested that suture closure might be hastened due to the compression of bindings, they discovered this not to be the case, nor did they discover the marked irregularities they initially expected in the course of sutures and conclude that “pressure between adjacent bones is not an important factor in suture closure. They did note an increase in height further forward in the cranial vault in females than males, which they attributed to both the longer periods of binding that female children appeared to endure as well as the less rugged nuchal area on female crania. Blackwood and Danby also suggested that because the deformations caused by binding force the mass of the cranium posteriorly, the nuchal muscles do less work to counterbalance the weight of the face and mandible. In some of the crania they examined, the nuchal lines were nearly absent. In addition, one cranium exhibited an unusual angle with mandibular condyles which were “rotated backwards.” They also found that their samples had increases in heights associated with the upper face, nasion, and orbitals.

Cheverud and Midkiff (1992) also noted that artificial cranial modification had some affect on the mandible. They examined 82 mandibles from the prehistoric Peruvian-Ancon series which had their associated crania previously scored by degree of fronto-occipital flattening. The crania were either unmodified, slightly modified, modified, or greatly modified. What they discovered was that fronto-occipital flattening can affect mandibular morphology. The compensatory lateral increases of cranium can result in an increased intercondylar width, and a decrease in anterior-posterior depth. The overall shape of the mandible is thus changed.

Various suggestions for the origins and motivations of intentional cranial modifications exist depending on the observations of various researchers at various sites representative of the ancient and modern worlds. Blackwood and Danby (1955) conclude in their ethnographic observations of modern humans in Melanesia that the motivations are purely aesthetic and devoid of magico-religious influences, ethnic identity, or expression of social or elite status. Blom (2005) concluded that there was an ethnic identification component and a drive to create symbolic boundaries between environmental niches. For Torres-Rouff (2002), cranial vault modification was not "merely an aesthetic choice but a social signifier of great importance." She studied the same populations as Blom and concludes that "[t]hrough cranial vault modification, the body can be made into a symbol of ethnic or community identity, with members of a particular group sharing this physical characteristic that differentiates them from others."

9

Carl T. Feagans

Blackwood and Danby (1955) reported that the Arawe shaped their skulls for purely aesthetic purposes and much the same was reported by another ethnographer who traveled southwest Macedonia in the 1920s. Margaret Hasluck wrote (1947):

The Konia Turks, whose heads are naturally on the massive side, desire, as they said, 'to flatten the forehead' and 'to make the head high and flat instead of tumba (round). The Albanians, who also dislike 'heads like apples,' do not need to bandage the heads of their babies because they achieve the flat effect of their admiration by strapping the infants to a board...”

Hasluck also quotes a passage of Hippocrates that includes, “[t]he people believe that longheadedness is a mark of distinction.

Another inspiration for in vivo cranial modification might be ancestor worship. Blackwood and Danby (1955) note that not long before the time the Arawe were observed by them, there existed a tradition of exhuming their dead to conduct a second series of funerary rites in which skulls are placed in a structure after being washed in the sea and painted with red ochre. Perhaps one of the best known instances of ancestor worship that involves skull modification comes from Jericho in the Near East. Fletcher et al (2008) describe in detail the plastered skulls of Jericho and make a novel correlation between antemortem and postmortem deformations. The skulls they examine originate from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) B period of the Levant at about 10,500 – 8,700 years ago. One of the skulls, D113 (fig.6) is in the British Museum and was one of seven plastered skulls recovered by Kathleen Kenyon from the PPNB level of Jericho in 1953. The PPNB is an important period of human history because it represents a transition from a foraging lifeway to a more sedentary, agricultural one along with a marked increase in population densities and expansions within the Levant (Watkins 2005; Renfrew and Bahn 2008 ).

Mortuary practices of PPNB, as described by Fletcher et al (2008), originate in the PPNA and the Late Natufian:

The persistence of this practice overarches different subsistence and cultural modes for around four millennia. Cranial removal in the Middle PPNB was also expressed symbolically in wall paintings and decapitation of figurines at sites such as Ain Ghazal, Jericho and Catalhoyuk (Fletcher et al 2008: 310-311).

Caches of skulls like the one that Kenyon recovered in Jericho have been found at other sites, their facial features remodeled in plaster and often painted with cowrie shells added to represent eyes (Watkins 2005). There is no evidence that the individuals who had their skulls plastered were of high status or elites of the settlements. There is, however, evidence of burials associated with the settlements which had skulls removed while other bodies were dumped unceremoniously in waste pits also associated with the settlements. The number of burials found

10

Carl T. Feagans

are not sufficient enough in number to account for the population sizes of these settlements (Watkins 2005).

There is speculation that the skulls included a sort of covering or wig since they were plastered on the base, sides and face but not the cranial vault itself (Fletcher et al). The net like patterns found on the cranial vaults of skulls recovered from Nhal Hemar may support this hypothesis since it may represent braided hair or a woven headdress. But the question remains, why were some skulls selected and others not (Watkins 2005: 221-223; Fletcher et al 2008: 318) Fletcher et al suggest that the removal, decoration and curation of artificially modified skulls was not a mortuary practice but, rather, a life practice in which these carefully plastered and painted skulls were ritual symbols of the relationship between life and death. To get to this conclusion, they demonstrated that the skulls, thought only to be modified postmortem, were also modified antemortem. Fletcher et al used radiographic analysis to examine the skulls and show that there existed evidence for in vivo cranial modification due to a varied thickness of the inner table of the cranial vault. In non-modified skulls, this thickness is uniform and consistent, but in skulls that have been modified, the thickness varies. They also note the painted stripes across the parietal bones of one skull, which might represent the method of binding the cranium.

Fletcher et al describe the possibility that the skulls were chosen for their morphology and they cite previous research which indicates that the preference was for crania with “low wide faces and broad vaults,” which also happen to be present in many of the culturally modified skulls described earlier. Interestingly enough, Fletcher et al note, too, that the plastering of the facial features was done without regard for what the individual actually looked like, consistent with attempting to achieve and ideal form and that the resulting skull was not intended to be a realistic representation of the living individual. They also discuss the hypothesis that the skulls are chosen based on their sex and part of the veneration of elder males, but because of the fact that plastering obscures characteristics for determining sex, this may not actually be the case. In addition, evidence for the plastering of female and child skulls seems to refute this ancestor cult hypothesis altogether.

Along with the radiographic evidence that the plastered skulls were modified in vivo, there also exists cultural evidence for the aesthetic appeal for certain head shapes in Neolithic iconography by way of figurines that exhibit elongated skulls (Meiklejohn et al 1992; Hole et al 1969). Female figurines excavated from Tell Ramad depict an elongated form (Meiklejohn et al 1992: 95) and at the Late Neolithic to Middle Chalcolithic site of Coga Mish in Iran, 38 human figurines were recovered, three of which were of human heads that exhibit a round frontal view, but are clearly flattened and elongated in the back, consistent with in vivo cranial modification. Indeed they each have a painted black band encircling the head which could represent bandage bindings (Hole et al 1969). The Late Neolithic through Middle Chalcolithic also produced evidence of skulls intentionally modified during the lives of the individuals. Ganj darra, Ali Kosh, Choga Safid, and Choga Mish each produced skulls where the individuals had undergone shaping in vivo by use of bindings as infants and were variously male and female (Meiklejohn et

11

Carl T. Feagans

al 1992: 86-89). At Ganj Darra and Choga Safid, each skull excavated had indications of intentional cranial modification. This, when considered that not all skulls were selected for burial, seems to indicate a preference for skulls modified in vivo when it came time for burial, caching and postmortem modifications like plastering.

As Fletcher et al pointed out, the inclusion of females and children as the recipients of antemortem and postmortem modifications would seem to disassociate the practices from ancestor worship. Fletcher et al conclude that, while ancestor worship as an explanation would appear inadequate, the “generalized veneration of ancestral ties may reflect attempts to cope with the social and economic stresses associated with the changing economic and subsistence strategies of the PPNB and the growth of permanent large-scale centres such as Jericho [and] it becomes easier to accept that children a well adults could have assumed a significant role in linking living communities with their past.” The modification of the human skull in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic may very well have been a way of ensuring heredity and kinship within a growing and diversifying population that was becoming increasingly sedentary, which may explain the preference for skulls modified in vivo for postmortem veneration.

But if it is established that intentional cranial modification creates an aesthetically pleasing form for some cultures (Dingwall 1931; Blackwood and Danby 1955; Fletcher et al 2008; Meiklejohn et al 1992; Blom 2005), the question could remain as to why this would be the case. Insight to this could be found by exploring the value, meaning and extent of artistic representation and appreciation within human cultures. Rudolf Arnheim (1983) discussed caricature and deviation in the artistic representations of various cultures and notes that deviations from the norm comprise the “very root of perceptual dynamics and therefore of expression, artistic and otherwise.” He notes that deviation is a key component of visual dynamics and that where shape deviates from a standard it can create a caricature of the original, that is to say, features characteristic of the norm are accentuated and highlighted. The parts of the original that make it unique or special become perceptually and visually enhanced.

Perhaps the former foragers, now agriculturalists, of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic had ancestors within their societies who were considered inspirational leaders and founders of the societies themselves -individuals who were remembered as having skull shapes and sizes that, while not outside the normal range for H. sapiens sapiens, were nonetheless noticeably different. Perhaps, in an attempt to venerate these leaders or founders, or to establish kinship with them, parents began the practice of binding their infants' heads to ensure this link to the past and to their ancestors. Perhaps something similar can be said for Andean societies in and around Tiwanaku where diversity and ancestry both appeared to be appreciated and venerated. The Arawe, who reported no other reason than aesthetics, may have been creating self-caricatures of an ideal form of an ancestor long forgotten, but still venerated unintentionally.

The true origins of artificial but intentional cranial modifications may never be known or understood and they may, indeed, be as numerous as the number of cultures throughout human

12

Carl T. Feagans

history and prehistory that practiced it. But the continued study and attempts to understand this practice can help avoid making unintended assumptions that might affect the conclusions of researchers examining cultures that practiced it. Head shaping may not be a way of exerting dominance over another group or demonstrating elite status; trephination may not simply be a method of releasing spirits and demons.

13

Carl T. Feagans

References:

Andrushko, Valerie A. and Verano, John W. (2008). Prehistoric trepanation in the Cuzco region of Peru: a view into an ancient Andean practice. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 137, 4-13.

Anton, Susan C.; and Weinstein, Karen J. (1999). Artificial cranial deformation and fossil Australians revisited. Journal of Human Evolution, 36(2), 195-209.

Arnheim, Rudolf (1983). The Rationale of Deformation. Art Journal, 43 (4), 319-324.

Blackwood, Beatrice; Danby, P.M. (1955). A study of artificial cranial deformation in New Britain. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 85 (1/2), 173-191.

Blom, Deborah E. (2005). Embodying borders: human body modification and diversity in Tiwanaku society. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 24, 1-24.

Cheverud, James M.; Midkiff, James E. (1992). Effects of fronto-occipital cranial reshaping on mandibular form. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 87, 167-171.

Comer, Ronald J. (2003). Abnormal Psychology, 5th edition. New York: McMillan.

Dingwall, Eric John (1931). Artificial Cranial Deformation: a contribution to the study of ethnic mutilations. London: John Bale, Sons and Danielsson.

Fernando, Hiram and Finger, Stanley (2002). “Ephraim George Squier's Peruvian Skull and the Discovery of Cranial Trepanation.” In Trepanation: history, discovery, theory. Robert Arnott, Stanley Finger, Christopher Upham Murray Smith (eds.). Taylor and Francis.

Finger, Stanley, and Clower, William T. (2002). “On the birth of trepanation: The thoughts of Paul Broca and Victor Horsley.” In Trepanation: history, discovery, theory. Robert Arnott, Stanley Finger, Christopher Upham Murray Smith (eds.). Taylor and Francis.

Fletcher, Alexandra; Pearson, Jessica; and Ambers, Janet (2008). The manipulation of social and physical identity in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic: radiographic evidence for cranial modification at Jericho and its implications for the plastering of skulls. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 18 (3), 309-325.

Han, Kangxin and Chen, Xingcan (2007). The archaeological evidence of trepanation in Early China. Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Bulletin, 27, 22-27.

Hasluck, Margaret (1947). Head-Deformation in the Near East. Man, 47, 130-131.

Hippocrates; Adams, Francis (1849). The genuine works of Hippocrates. Sydenham Society, p. 452.

Hiscock, Peter (2007). Archaeology of Ancient Australia. Routledge.

Hole, Frank; Flannery, Kent V.; Neely, James A. (1969). Prehistory and Human Ecology of the Deh Luran Plain. An Early Village Sequence from Khuzistan, Iran. Ann Arbor, MI:

14

Carl T. Feagans

University of Michigan Press.

Knowles, Rollin Henry (1903). An Encyclopedia-dictionary and Reference Handbook of the Ophthalmic Sciences. Jewelers' Circular Publishing Co.

Meiklejohn, C.; Agelarakis, A.; Akkermans, P.A.; Smith, P.E.L.; Solecki, R. (1992) Artificial Cranial Deformation in the Proto-Neolithic and Neolithic Near East and its Possible Origin: Evidence from Four Sites. Paléorient 18(2), 83-97.

Neumann, George K. (1942). Types of cranial deformation in the Eastern United States. American Antiquity, 7(3), 306-310.

Ortner, Donald J (2003). Identification of pathological conditions in human skeletal remains, 2nd edition. San Diego: Academic Press

Pettitt, Paul (2005). “The rise of modern humans.” In The Human Past. Chris Scarre, (ed.). London: Thames and Hudson, 124-173.

Renfrew, Colin; and Bahn, Paul (2008). Archaeology, fifth edition. London: Thames and Hudson.

Smith, Patricia (1990). “The Trephined Skull from the Early Bronze Age Period at Arad.” In Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical, and Geographical Studies, Vol. 21. Ruth Amiran, ed. Jerusalem: The Israel Exploration Society.

Tiesler, Vera (1999). “Head shaping and dental decoration among the ancient Maya: archaeological and cultural aspects.” Paper presented at the 64th meeting of the Society of American Archaeology, Chicago 1999.

Torres-Rouff, Christina (2002). Cranial vault modification and ethnicity in Middle Horizon San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Current Anthropology, 43(1), 163-173.

Trinkaus, Erik (1982). Artificial Cranial Deformation in the Shanidar 1 and 5 Neandertals. Current Anthropology, 23 (2), 198-199.

Walker, Amelie A. (1997). Neolithic Surgery. Archaeology 50(5), 19.

Watkins, Trevor (2005). “From foragers to complex societies in southwest Asia.” In The Human Past. Chris Scarre, (ed.). London: Thames and Hudson, 200-233.

15

Carl T. Feagans

16

Figure 1: Trephined skull recovered by Squier

Figure 2: Trephined skull recovered by Sankhyan and Weber (2001) in Burzahom, India 4000 years BP

Figure 3: Cradleboarded infant with mother

Carl T. Feagans

17

Figure 4: From Neumann, 1942

Carl T. Feagans

18

Figure 5: Skull shaping of the Arawe, from Blackwood and Danby, 1955

Figure 6: Plastered skull from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B of Jericho, from Fletcher et al, 2008