Disturbing alien-like skull belonging to ‘archaic’ human stuns experts who say ‘barbaric’ deformation ritual is to blame
A BIZARRE enlarged alien-like skull has been unearthed by shocked construction workers in Argentina.
Experts are divided on how the deformed discovery came to be.
But one strong theory links it to a barbaric method that dates back as far as 300,000 years ago.
If true, it’s a type of artificial cranial deformation process where the skull of a child is deliberately flattened to elongate the shape.
The disturbing ritual involved putting pressure on the infant’s head with splints or bandages when their bones are still flexible.
This causes the skull to appear wider, as well as creating a flat or curved line along the back of it.
The ancient practice was commonplace among some groups, like the Ciénaga and Aguada people, who roamed lived around the 3rd and 12th centuries AD.
Unsuspecting construction workers in the town of San Fernando, Belén, stumbled across it, according to local media.
They found funerary urns containing human remains, one containing the deformed skull.
“We’ve contacted the provincial Anthropology Department and the police so they can conduct the necessary studies and find out what generation he belongs to and any mysteries this may hold,” said Clara Ríos, the town’s director of culture told papers.
Some have likened the skull to that of the antmen – or the Myrmidons – an ancient tribe in Greek mythology.
“Interpreting these findings offers an opportunity to deepen our connection with our ancestry,” the Archaeological Studies Group (GEA) said, according to Heritage Daily.
“By respecting and valuing these cultural practices and their meanings, we honour the memory of our ancestors and connect with them through our shared human experience.”
There are a number of reasons why groups used to deform skulls like this.
Experts say it was done as a sign of social status, to show which group you were part of or for spiritual beliefs.
WHERE DID IT ALL START?
The process of head flattening – officially known as artificial cranial deformation – can be dated back as far as 300,000 years ago.
Earliest evidence of it taking place was among the ancient Mousterian people.
This was traced back to Shanidar in Iraq during the Middle Paleolithic period (approximately 300,000–30,000 years ago).
Source: JNS