5 Mysterious Skulls: Dare They Be Called, Human?
Posted by CultCase at Monday, August 18, 2008 | 52 comments
Read more about death , history , human-biology , science , weird
A guest post by s hayes
This isn't your most recent episode of Unsolved Mysteries. In fact, these are five authentic skulls dug up and discovered from nearly every corner of the globe. If the skulls are actually of human origin has been put up for debate by some. Either way, these anomalies will either give you a great costume idea, inspiration to go on your own Indian Jones-style adventure, or just provide a reason for some really freaky dreams.
The Horned Skull
During an archaeological dig in Sayre, Bradford County, Pennsylvania in the 1880s, a number of human skulls were unearthed. These skeletons were anatomically correct, except for the anomaly of their projections, two inches above the eyebrow, and the fact that their average height in life would have been around seven feet tall. The bones were sent to the American Investigating Museum in Philadelphia, where they were stolen - never to be seen again.
Above: Instances today of genetic throwbacks to this race.
Starchild Skull
This peculiar skull was found in a mine tunnel, 100 miles Southwest of Chihuahua. Dental analysis have ascertained that the skull is that of a five year old child. However, the interior of the skull is 20cm larger than the average adult cranial cavity. The optic nerve is situated at the bottom of the eye socket, rather than the back.
The back of the skull is flattened, but not by artificial means. Carbon dating places the skull's age at approximately 1100 BCE. DNA testing has determined that the child had a human mother, but useful lengths of nuclear DNA for further testing could not be recovered. In 2004, Royal Holloway College of the University of London revealed “fibers” in the bone of the skull and a reddish residue, neither of which are known or recorded to exist prior to the discovery.
Peruvian Skulls
These odd elongated skulls originate from Peru. They were excavated in Nazca - close to the mysterious Nazca lines. As with the horned skull race, skeletal remains reveal that this race was extremely tall - up to nine feet in height. Similar skulls have been excavated in Mexico and are on display in museums. Some of the elongated skulls showed evidence of ancient brain surgery, suggesting an advanced knowledge and understanding of biology. Suggestions that the skulls were altered by a process of binding the skull in infancy, when the cranial bones are soft, encouraging them to grow into an un-natural shape, have been rejected.
Nevertheless, skull binding cannot increase the internal capacity of the cranial void - and evidence points to the fact that in the case of the Peruvian and Mexican skulls, the cranial void is significantly larger than in a normal skull. It is intriguing also to consider the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten and his family - who were depicted in hieroglyphics as having a large misshapen skull.
Above: Depictions of Akhenaten and his Daughter
Robert Connolly Discoveries
Robert Connolly was researching the paper “In Search of Ancient Wisdom" when he came across these intriguing skulls. During his research, Robert photographed them:
This skull is in all respects similar to modern skulls, with only several factors out of proportion. The size of eye sockets are about 15% larger than normal. The cranial cavity is almost double that of a normal human - the estimated cranial capacity ranges between minimum of 2600 cm3 to 3200 cm3.
Above: The lower jaw bone of this skull is missing.
What is noticeable about the remnants of the facial portion is that the characteristics are entirely within the range of a normal human skull. The cranial cavity, on the other hand, is extremely large - with the cavity exceeding 3000cm3 Also, the two protruding "lobes" are highly anomalous.
Bulgarian Skull
This skull cannot visibly classified as human - but is interesting. It was discovered in 2001, the Rodopi Mountains, Bulgaria. Very little else is known at this point in time.
Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4
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Gil
Are you sure that the interior was a whole 2 meters larger... freak show. Or was it negative space?
I think you mean the Nazca lines.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Lines
Cool article tho!
Cheers!
However, unless Dale Earnhardt travelled to Peru many years ago, I don't think you're talking about the NASCAR lines, probably meant Nazca.
Innocent mistake, could happen to any ethnocentric american.
Near looking though. The lower jaw (or what's left of it) is intriguing.
I knew the author wasn't interested in serious, scientific inquiry when I saw the caption underneath the two photos of "horned" people, which reads,
"Instances today of genetic throwbacks to this race."
Okay...
"Genetic throwbacks..."
Throwbacks? According to whom?
"...to this race."
Back to what race, exactly, are these people throwing?
The "horned" individual in the photo on the left is 98 year old Ma Zhong Nan, one of the many people, past and present whose horn-like growths have been documented in medical literature.
There are various conditions which can cause humans to grow horn-like structures on their heads or faces, with skin warts and related wart-type growths being the most common. Pre-malignant and cancerous growths account for most of the rest.
In none of these cases do people have actual horns, nor is there evidence suggesting that they are in any way genetic throwbacks to some long-forgotten, horned branch of the hominid family.
this article is awash in a sea of fail.
First, the "starchild skull" was NOT from an infant that died right after birth. The kid was five years old and found with his mother in a cave. it is more likely that their village banished them for the child's deformity which they would have perceived as a sign from their gods. I would like to know more about this genetic deformity, what causes it and what the effects were on the child and his development.
The elongated skulls have been found in both Peru and Egypt which in and of itself provides MORE evidence of pre-Columbian, cross-Atlanic spread of information or even people (but sorry. i forgot. Columbus discovered America...).
Also, it is NOT proven yet whether this extent of elongation can actually even be achieved by binding the skulls of normal, average size humans. We know plenty of people bound the skulls of their children. We also know that most of those skulls are smaller than the ones we're discussing here. The elongation is not nearly as pronounced and in many cases are almost flat on the back, the elongation protruding upwards. (for example: http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/husa/origins/hunhist/hunkoponya.html - also notice the lack of tapering of the skull. Do an image search for skull bindings. these shown in this article are, actually, unusual even for this)
So really. stop name calling. it really deminishes your credibility and your perceived intelligence level.
If you *know* (for a fact, not just because someone else said it and you would rather believe them) research that has been done and conclusions that have been reached, share it. If you, for example, can actually recognize the inside of a cow's skull (I won't ask any questions...), let us know. If you are just going to be rude and immature because you can't think of an arguement, then shut up and move on.
The book is on Peruvian Antiquities.
Add to this, the fact you can't increase the internal volume of the skull by adding pressure to it in the form of boards and what not, it really makes it hard then, to explain this conehead fetus.
Then flash back to the Egyptian pictures above. Father and daughter coneheads, was it?
Cheers
http://z.about.com/d/tvcomedies/1/0/Y/0/-/-/stewie_evil.jpg
I like your work and research.Am also an artist but I explore 'matatus' in Kenya.Check me at africanstreetsart.blogspot.com
THANKS.
First, the Peruvian skulls have been shown time and again in several different studies to not be the result of binding, as were many in other, mostly african/asian cultures.
The Peruvian skulls are huge - take a trip to Peru, you can tour 'museums' that people have created in their backyard. That's how numerous the skulls are, everyday people can dig them up. You can see them for about $1 USD and in these makeshift 'museums' you can hold them and touch them and what not. They are massive.
This would indicate, via skull size, a pre-Neanderthal individual. However, test after tests on the jaw show dental results that indicate something very close to indetical to the teeth you eat your McDonals with. That posses a big time problem.
This species of people obviously could breed readily, given the large quantity of skulls like these in Peru. So the question would have to come down to, why did the skulls begin to take this shape/why was a larger brain needed, and why did such an apparently viable race die out?
Next, with that large 'pumpkin head' skull, until more are found, it would be fool-hardy to assume anything about it, as it could be an individualized case. However, one has to acknowledge, that on that specific skull, which appears very much like a modern one, that the eye sockets are huge. If there was a race of people like this, I hope one day a tomb or something is found so we could find out more. It is quite curious.
That skull with two 'humps' and two sockets in the back could very well be the joining of twins pre-birth. However, that is a common accurance even today, and give the fairly modern look of the skull, it wouldn't be entirely wrong of us to assume twin-combining elements would be similar. When to skulls merge today, you can generally assertain the merge point down the entire skull - that is, you can see the depression at the top, but then the back of the skull is round, which is very odd, as with two merged heads, you would generally see the merge point, even if only minor, down the entire length of the skull. Not making any assumptions, but if you just say 'oh, it was twins, stupid', then you're being very ignorant also. I wish I could physically see and touch it.
That horned skull does not necessarily appear to be the by-product of two skulls placed together. It has a decorative features on it, and it could be completely within reason to think the lightered colored piece on the back is a leather or wood cap placed there for said decorative reasons. It's impossible to tell definitivly from the photos. The horns themselves are attached to the face, and are part of it. So, one would need to find out if the skull is a real skull or a decorative piece, and if the back of the skull is present and covered, or if it is missing and replaced. Again, I wish I could physically touch and examine it, but alas, I do not have that type of social connection.
Finally, he just included that last one because he said it was interesting, and made no assumptions about it. I don't understand why people jumped on him for that. IMO, it does look like a wee Predator, probably turned his back on the Alien for a bit too long :)
I'm not making assumptions about these. What I hope to point out is that those of you who come in with a 'I've got it all solved' attitude are just as presumptuous and at fault as those you condemn.
"hello my name is morgan cute.i just want to fine out if you guys can buy human skull?if yes,just me at morgancute30@yahoo.com"
So...
What are telling us, Morgan?
ummm, no. no. way. man. no. way. jose.
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!
but the closed skull to human form is probably the horn one. cuz we can all get implants of em!
I get along by just not believing ANYTHING I see or hear these days; I just think to myself "Ok, this is worth going along with, for now."
I would also like to fire a glare at the person who "didn't want to spoil" whatever he thinks he's found out. I've made a list of all the external sources you guys kindly provided in these responses, and unfortunately was not able to add his to it!
And that issue about the "Nascar" typo made my day. (^____^) People take everything way too seriously. Even if these skulls REALLY WERE aliens, the only thing we'd actually have to worry about is more of the live ones coming back, otherwise said discovery will have little to no effect on our day-to-day lives. Interesting - yes to some people. Important - no to most people.
Unless of course you let yourself get so infuriated by the debate itself that you just wanna shoot yourself. (Please don't.) T___T
It has a link to additional photos and may be of interest to you all...
http://www.google.com/images?q=hydrocephalic%20skull&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi
It explains the starchild, the two large lobes, and the elongated head.
Also, Akhenaten had some serious genetic issues (which are well documented and explained, including the head - craniosynostosis) and his daughters may have inherited some. He also married his sister so who knows what's going to come out of that.
For the horns, also an obvious deformity, except for the two-horned guy who is a fake. How convenient that it was stolen before it could be examined.
It's time for the boring scientists to admit that they are wrong and that aliens and creatures really once dominated the world. It is also proof of a new world order conspiracy and proof that Satan and Jesus once lived among us!!!!!!!!