Ancient Human Remains With Heart-Shaped Skulls Discovered in Mexico; Cranial Modification Was Intentional [Report]

Some human remains were found with deformed skulls during an excavation in Mexico. According to a report, the modifications were intentional.

Intentional Cranial Modification in Some Human Remains Discovered

The remarkable find was uncovered by researchers from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Durango, in the country's lower northwest, at the La Ferrera Archaeological Zone, Newsweek reported.

Archaeologists recently found the bone remains of 16 people within the Casa Colorada building during site excavations.

The most recent find, made beneath a plaza's floor, contains the bones of eight adults aged 30 and 40 when they passed away. Children between the ages of 1 and 7 made up the remaining skeletons.

Although three of the adult skeletons were discovered in good preservation, most of the remains are fractured.

Researchers discovered cranial changes in the skulls of two skeletons, proving that the heads had been purposefully disfigured. When viewed from particular angles, the affected skull's distortion gives off an appearance resembling a heart's shape.

The deliberate and purposeful deformation of skulls has been recorded in numerous ancient societies worldwide, including Mesoamerica, which encompassed much of Mexico and Central America, even though this had never been observed at the site before. It still goes on today in a few places around the world.

The procedure modifies the natural growth of the skull bones, resulting in a wide range of unique shapes and forms. The application of force, accomplished via various techniques, such as binding between wood pieces, distorts the skull's development. Such procedures are typically used because the head is most malleable during infancy.

Newsweek emailed the INAH to request a response Wednesday.

ALSO READ: Unknown Ancient Writing System Associated With Early Nomadic People Decoded

What Is Artificial Cranial Deformation or Modification?

The deliberate alteration of the physical characteristics of the skull is known as artificial cranial deformation (ACD), and it is frequently performed on infants with the assistance of caretakers.

Head binding or flattening is often used to attain the desired form. Despite being used by many cultures worldwide, the Maya invented this method by attaching a unique head-flattening device on the child's skull, which sometimes resembled a cradleboard. The continual pressure on the developing cranium caused the skull shape to evolve, elongate, and conical over time. The Maya may have wanted to shield the spirits of children and shield them from "evil winds," according to Discover magazine.

Since Julio Tello's fascinating discoveries, researchers have looked into the causes of these behaviors. A prolonged or artificial head modification may seem strange to a contemporary Westerner. But enlarged and purposefully sculpted craniums represent beauty and rank for the groups who engaged in it in antiquity and, in some cases, even today.

The Maya adopted a similar strategy and probably employed ACD to distinguish nobles from commoners, such as priests' children and high-ranking persons. In a custom known as Lipombo, the Mangbetu people, today based in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, likewise tightly bound the heads of female infants starting a month after birth.

Although the use of ACD in this context has decreased since the 1950s due to Belgian colonial influence, the Mangbetu had similar beliefs to other tribes worldwide, considering the women's extended heads as a status symbol signaling attractiveness and intelligence.