2023-08-18 13:15:26
When examining the mortal remains of people who lived in Japan between the 3rd and 7th centuries AD, it has been found that some skulls present an intentional artificial deformation, which must have been done during these people’s lives.
The research has been carried out by an international team of archaeologists and bioanthropologists, led by Noriko Seguchi of Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan.
The practice examined in this study, the intentional cranial modification of living people, was done in various ancient civilizations in many parts of the world.
Cranial modification is a form of body alteration in which a person’s head is pressed or bound, usually at a young age, to permanently deform the skull. The practice predates written history, and scholars of the subject theorize that it was performed to indicate the subject’s affiliation to a group or demonstrate its social status.
The authors of the new study have focused on the Hirota culture, which existed on the Japanese island of Tanegashima approximately between the 3rd and 7th centuries AD.
A large necropolis from that time remains on the island. Archaeological excavations were carried out in said necropolis between 1957 and 1959, and again between 2005 and 2006. The excavations brought to light skulls with characteristic deformations, which translate into a short head and a flattened posterior part of the skull, specifically in the area of the occiput and in posterior parts of the parietal bones.
However, although the necropolis provided an ideal opportunity to study the phenomenon, it was not clear whether these cranial modifications had been truly intentional or just an unintended secondary result of other habits.
The research team examined skulls from the Hirota culture and also compared them with skulls from archaeological sites from other ancient cultures in Japan.
The results of the new study support the suspicion that the cranial modifications were intentional. In addition, no significant differences in cranial modification have been found between men and women, indicating that the cranial modification was carried out in both sexes.
3D images of skulls unearthed from the Hirota culture archaeological site and the Doigahama site. The remains of the first were compared with those of the second, in order to see more clearly the differences in cranial morphology between both groups. As can be seen, the skull from the Hirota culture site (right) has a more flattened rear than the one from the Doigahama site (left), suggesting an intentional cranial modification. (Images: Seguchi Lab / Kyushu University)
As to what prompted these people to engage in this practice, it is unclear, although the study authors believe it was done to preserve the group’s identity and potentially facilitate long-distance trade.
The study is titled “Investigating intentional cranial modification: A hybridized two-dimensional/three-dimensional study of the Hirota site, Tanegashima, Japan”. And it has been published in the academic journal PLoS ONE. (Source: NCYT from Amazings)
#Artificial #modification #skulls #humans #alive #thousand #years