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elongated skulls

The sarcophagi of Carajia, the emblematic image of the lost culture of the Chachapoya Cloud Warriors. Source: newfotografer / Adobe Stock

Craniums and Controversies of the Chachapoya Cloud Warriors

Over a thousand years ago, in the mists of the cloud forests of northern Peru, near the source of the mighty Amazon River, the Chachapoya Cloud Warriors reigned supreme. Long before the emergence of...
Legendary Iranian king Rostam, depicted in this 7th century CE mural at Panjikent, Sogdia, with an elongated skull in the fashion of the Alchon Huns (Public Domain)

The Huns Used a Grotesque Practice to Unify Their People (Video)

The Huns , infamous invaders of the Roman Empire , employed a unique practice to distinguish and unify their people. Recent archaeological investigations and DNA analyses have shed light on their...
The decapitated skulls were found at the Maya Moral-Reforma site in Mexico. Source: INAH

Decapitated Elongated Skulls Revealed as Gruesome Ancient Maya Ritual Offerings

In April , archaeologists working at the Moral-Reforma Archaeological site in Tabasco, Mexico, discovered 13 human burials with elongated skulls showing decapitation marks. Now, scientists and...
Modified skulls unearthed at La Ferrería Archaeological Zone in Durango State, Mexico. Source:   INAH National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico

‘Heart-Shaped’ Cranial Modification Carried Out on Skulls at Ancient Mexican Site of Durango

A funerary deposit in the form of a collective burial of 16 individuals, 8 adults and 8 children, has been uncovered in the architectural complex in Durango . This ancient Mexican site located in the...
The elongated skull of a knight found in one of two lead-line sarcophagi found interred in Notre Dame Cathedral. Source: Denis Glicksman / INRAP

Notre Dame Sarcophagus Opened Revealing Knight with Elongated Skull!

Finding the remains of a high priest buried at the most sacred spot in Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral, and all of medieval France, seems a predictable discovery. However, unearthing a knight with an...
Graphic chart displaying the heights of various giant discoveries in North America (authors supplied)

Top Ten Giant Discoveries in North America

The Iroquois, the Osage, the Tuscaroras, the Hurons, the Omahas, and many other North American Indians all speak of giant men who once lived and roamed in the territories of their forefathers. All...
Even Viking warriors used body modification to stand out. Source: Fotokvadrat / Adobe Stock

From Tattoos to Elongated Skulls: A History of Body Modification

Since emergence of humankind, people have been fascinated by art. They began by painting intricate pieces upon cave walls, and then carved statuettes and symbols out of stone and antler. Soon after,...
Elongated Skulls in utero - Morton Collection

Elongated Skulls in utero: A Farewell to the Artificial Cranial Deformation Paradigm?

Elongated skulls are usually explained in terms of head-binding or artificial cranial deformation. This paradigm emerged in the first half of the 19th century as a way of explaining unusual skulls...
Mass Murder, Megalithic Music, and Misconduct in Prehistoric Malta

Mass Murder, Megalithic Music, and Misconduct in Prehistoric Malta

Despite claims by experts and historians, not all of human history can be easily explained and many mysteries still remain. Just south of Sicily, surrounded by sapphire waters and sun-soaked shores,...
Gods of Antiquity: Elongated Skulls From Africa

Gods of Antiquity: Elongated Skulls From Africa

The remains of an ancient female skeleton with an elongated skull , dating back to 400 – 600 AD, has been found during recent excavations at the Gamurzievsky settlement in the city of Nazran,...
Several of the extended or elongated skulls being measured. Source: © Philip J.S. Jones

Elongated Skulls Found in Completely New Region of Peru

Five sets of human skeletal remains have been discovered by investigators in Peru and, surprisingly, two of the five have elongated skulls. The find has been made in an area where this type of skull...
One of the two elongated skulls belongs to a teenage boy who died 1500 years ago and was buried in a pit with two other boys of different genetic background.     Source: © D. Los/Kaducej Ltd / University of Wien

Ancient Alien-Like Heads Discovered in Croatia

Archaeologists digging in Croatia have unearthed three ancient alien-like skeletons and two have artificially elongated skulls. Since 12,000-years-ago in ancient China, all over the ancient world,...
Skulls from the Andean Paracas (top left). (CC BY-SA 3.0); Paracas skull at Ica Museum(right). (CC BY 2.0); Child head shaping methods (bottom left).

Elongated Skulls Increased Kudos in Ancient Peru

Archaeologists dig them up all over the ancient world from Egypt to Peru, and now, these curious elongated skulls are believed to have been “status symbols,” according to a recent paper in Current...
Adena Giant Mound Builders

The Adena Giant Revealed: Profile of Prehistoric Mound Builders

In the 1800s, reports began to surface of the discovery of very large skeletal remains in the burial mounds of North America. These skeletons were described as reaching seven to eight feet (2.4...
The double burial of the Serpent-Jaguar Priests, Pacopampa, Peru.

Lost for 2 700 years: Tomb of the Serpent Jaguar Priests Uncovered in Peru

A very interesting tomb has been uncovered in San Pedro de Pacopampa, Chota Province, Cajamarca Region, Peru. The tomb contains a double burial of what is believed to be high-ranking priests from the...
Mark Laplume’s reconstructions

The Story Of Elongated Skulls And The Denied History Of Ancient People: An Interview With Mark Laplume

Mark Laplume is an artist and independent researcher who has been engaged in making reconstruction drawings of ancient people with elongated skulls. I have already had the pleasure of showcasing his...
Artistic representations of the Paracas people

Ancient rock lines created by enigmatic Paracas culture predate Nazca geoglyphs

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , has revealed the discovery of a complex set of geoglyphs constructed by the mysterious Paracas people of Peru...
Elongated skulls in the Carpathian Basin

New study reveal origins of elongated skulls in the Carpathian Basin

New research published this month in the journal Neurosurgical Focus , has sought to unravel the history, origin, and ethnic context of elongated skulls found in the Carpathian Basin, a large basin...
Elongated Skull in Paracas - Interview transcript

Unravelling the Genetics of Elongated Skulls - Transcript of Interview with Brien Foerster

Here we present the transcript of an interview conducted today between April Holloway of Ancient Origins, and Brien Foerster, researcher and author, on the subject of elongated skulls in Paracas. In...
Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni

The Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni and an unknown race with elongated skulls

Many ancient megalithic structures exist in Malta and one of them is the ‘Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni’, a subterranean structure with magnificent properties that is more than 5,000 years old. The...
Unusual Discoveries 2013

Ten unusual archaeological discoveries

One of the best things about archaeology is uncovering the unexpected. Some of the findings listed below certainly fit into this category – from elongated skulls to vampire graves, green slime, and...