The Maya civilization is known for its spectacular art and architecture. A unique artifact, reportedly made from a human bone, was discovered in Mexico.
Ancient Maya Ornament Made From Human Bone
The country's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) released a statement announcing that researchers had discovered the rare artifact - a nose ornament - while researching at the Palenque Archaeological Zone in the southern state of Chiapas. Starting in the latter part of the first millennium B.C., the Maya city-state of Palenque was inhabited until roughly the 8th century A.D. Many of the best-known specimens of Maya architecture and art can be seen at the archaeological site.
The ceremonial deposit to which the nasal jewelry belonged dates to the Late Classic period of Mesoamerican history between A.D. 600 and 850. It is an intricately carved scene created from a portion of a human leg bone.
The profile of a guy wearing headgear with a bird head shape may be observed in one area of the artifact. A picture of a human skull missing a lower jaw can be seen in another section.
The researchers claimed that the Maya god of corn and fertility, K'awiil, is believed to have been represented by rulers and priests of the ancient city wearing the nasal ornament during ceremonies.
According to Arnoldo González Cruz, the director of the Palenque Archaeological Project (PAP), one of the defining characteristics of the god was the shape of the enormously elongated head and profile that ended in a point. He added that Palenque's ancient inhabitants aspired to imitate this god's head through deliberate cranial deformity.
Skull Deformation
Many ancient cultures, especially those of Mesoamerica, have been found to have engaged in the deliberate distortion of skulls. It still goes on today in a few places around the world.
The procedure involves changing how the skull's bones normally develop, which results in a 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.
To achieve the required form, binding or flattening of the head is frequently performed. Despite being practiced by numerous societies worldwide, the Maya pioneered this technique by fastening a special head-flattening device, sometimes resembling a cradleboard on the child's skull. The developing cranium was under constant pressure, which, throughout time, led the shape of the skull to change, elongate, and become conical. The Mayans may have wished to protect children's spirits and protect them from "evil winds."
In the years following Julio Tello's remarkable discoveries, scientists have investigated the reasons for these behaviors. A protracted or artificial head alteration could seem weird to a modern Westerner. However, in some circumstances, bigger and purposely molded craniums signified beauty and rank for the communities who practiced it in prehistoric times.
Similar tactics were used by the Maya, who most likely used artificial cranial deformation (ACD) to identify nobility from commoners, including high-ranking individuals and the children of priests. The Mangbetu people, currently headquartered in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, also tightly bind the heads of female infants beginning a month after birth. This practice is known as Lipombo.
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