Conehead Skull Found in France (PHOTO)

Female Conehead Skull Discovered in France

Archaeologists in the Obernai region of France have discovered a necropolis IE ancient cemetery containing 38 tombs spanning a period of roughly 4,000 years from as early as the Stone Age to the early Dark Ages. The have concluded that twenty of the bodies were dated back to the period 4900 B.C. to 4750 B.C. They believe the Obernai’s fertile land and abundant water sources attracted people to the area. The bodies were those of men, women, and children who were buried on their backs with outstretched limbs and faces tilted westward.

The remaining eighteen bodies are from the late Roman period or perhaps even early Dark Ages and are 1,650 years old. It is thought that the bodies are those of mercenaries from Eastern Europe and their family members. The most notable find was that of an aristocratic woman with a conehead.

The practice of using small boards and strips of cloth to force the human skull to grow into a conehead shape was popular among the wealthy Huns. The practice was adopted by the Germanic peoples explained Archaeologist Philippe Lefranc.

“The deformation of the skull with the help of bandages (narrow strips of cloth) and small boards is a practice coming from central Asia,” said Mr Lefranc. The practice was made popular by the Huns, from central Asia, and then spread throughout Germany, he said.

“In France, Germany and eastern Europe, these deformed skulls appear in tombs rich in objects,” he said. Researchers also found signs of wealth including gold pins, pearls, a comb made of antler and a bronze mirror in the woman’s grave.

The tomb of the woman also included items of wealth that would only be in the possession of an aristocrat.

Not the First “Alien” skull to be found

Earlier this year, archaeologists in the Mexican village of Onavas were intrigued when they uncovered alien-like skulls in a thousand year old cemetery.

The site, referred to as El Cementerio, contained the remains of 25 human burials. Thirteen of them had deformed skulls, which were elongate and pointy at the back, and five had mutilated teeth.

Dental mutilation involves filing or grinding teeth into odd shapes, while cranial deformation involves distorting the normal growth of a child’s skull by applying force — for example, by using cloths to bind wooden boards against their heads.

“Cranial deformation has been used by different societies in the world as a ritual practice, or for distinction of status within a group or to distinguish between social groups,” said researcher Cristina García Moreno, an archaeologist at Arizona State University. “The reason why these individuals at El Cementerio deformed their skulls is still unknown.”

“The most common comment I’ve read from people that see the pictures of cranial deformation has been that they think that those people were ‘aliens,’” García added. “I could say that some say that as a joke, but the interesting thing is that some do think so. Obviously we are talking about human beings, not of aliens.”

On The Web:
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/deformed-conehead-skull-dark-ages-unearthed-france-2D11603324

Archaeologists discover ancient ‘conehead’ in French necropolis; wealth artistocratic woman’s skeleton
http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeologists-discover-ancient-conehead-in-french-necropolis-wealth-artistocratic-womans-skeleton/story-fn5fsgyc-1226762903103