The prehistoric skull, discovered in an Italian cave half a century ago, is the oldest example of artificial skull alterations ever discovered in Europe. An unusually long skull from about 12,500 years ago confirms that this practice dates back at least to the Stone Age.
“Body modifications, including the formation of the body — was one of many strategies that society in the past used to construct and communicate identity, status and belonging,” Irene Dori, a biologist at the University of Florence, told Live Science in an email.
In a new study published July 30 in Journal Scientific Reports, researchers analyzed the skull of Arene Candide Cave, a late Paleolithic site on the coast of northwestern Italy. About 12, 900 to 11, 600 years ago, a generation of hunter-gatherers used caves to fill the dead. In the 1940s, archaeologists discovered dozens of human skeletal structures on the site, most of which were repositioned after death in ancient rituals. A particular skull of an adult male, known as AC12, was found in a niche above another burial.
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In the 1980s, researchers suggested that AC12’s long, narrow skull could be the result of illnesses and accidents that altered the growth of the skull when a man was a child.
However, Dori and her colleagues were intrigued by another potential explanation, an artificial skull change. For new research, they essentially reconstructed the skull and statistically demonstrated that the best explanation for the “oddly shaped head” of AC12 is a modification of the pediatric body, they wrote in the study.
Practices of artificial skull change include applying pressure on the infant’s head during growth and development. If done consistently for months or years, this will permanently reshape the person’s skull. It is unclear whether practice had an impact on a person’s brain function.
The AC12 skull was reconstructed and glued in the 1970s, so researchers had to disassemble it to properly measure the skull fragments. They chose to do this nondestructively by performing a CT scan of the skull and effectively separate the bones. The researchers then digitally reconstructed the AC12 in four ways and compared virtual reconstructions with skulls around the world using a technique called geometric morphometric metrics that quantify the biological shape of bones.
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All results from this analysis revealed that AC12 is similar to other artificially modified skulls rather than normal skulls or skulls affected by disease or trauma. Specifically, the skull shape of the AC12 was probably made by wrapping a strip of fabric tightly around his head, the study authors said.
“This will be the earliest known case of artificial skull modification in Europe,” the researchers wrote in their study, as the bones were dated 12,190 to 12,620 years ago.
The reason behind the practice of artificial cranial modifications is still unknown, and its meaning probably differed between the cultures that performed it.
“Cultural body modification was probably an ancient and widespread practice,” Dori said, “it could have been one of several practices used to express identity and communicate social norms.” There is also evidence from the teeth of people who adorned their faces with cheek plugs at Arene Candide. However, skeletons are so fragmented that Dori said it is unclear how common artificial skull modifications are.
One idea the researchers are investigating is whether AC12 was somehow different from others buried in Stone Age cemetery. Analysis of Arene Candide Skeletons’ DNA is ongoing and could shed light on the potential for long distance travel and genetic partnerships with other groups, Dori said.
However, artificial skull modifications are being made all over the world. The oldest example in Asia is dated about 11,200 years ago, while the oldest example in Australia is 13,500 years ago. The practice may be best known from Central and South America, which took place over almost 10,000 years, but researchers stated that its roots are in ancient stones.
“This practice could have arisen independently in various regions,” Dori said, “as a practice rooted in using it as a medium of representation rooted in shared human tendencies. However, given the number of modified skulls throughout Eurasia, “the available evidence does not allow a clear determination of whether brain modifications were invented independently or culturally transmitted between groups,” Dori said.
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