9,000-Year-Old Decapitated Head Discovered In Brazil
Recently, a human skull has been reported to be found in a Brazilian cave, possibly the oldest proof of ritual beheading discovered in the western hemisphere, according to scientific reports.
Named Lapa do Santo, the place has long been famous for human inhabitants from 12,000 years ago, although the skull could be the oldest-known instance of a burial ritual focusing on the practice of head decapitation performed on the dead in the Americas.
While the evidence of skull worship and beheading for award purposes, the oldest decapitated remnants previously reported were about 3,000 years old.
However, the new discovery pushes that back by about 6,000 years and seems to have been a reflection of the deceased’s beliefs about death., and could also alter the common conception of South American beheading rites.
Upon its discovery, the skull had markings on the vertebrae, proof that it was lopped off after its owner’s death. Scientists believe that it was possibly from a young male who was part of the society when they found two severed hands laid over his face in a ritual pose.
Archaeologists also think that this might have been the most sophisticated grave to have been discovered up to now, considering all the skeletal remnants excavated at the Lapa do Santo site. "This ritualized decapitation attests to the early sophistication of mortuary rituals among hunter-gatherers in the Americas," said Strauss.
"Geographically, it expands the known range of decapitation in more than 2,000 kilometers (about 1,240 miles), showing that during the early Holocene, this was not a phenomenon restricted to the western part of the continent as previously assumed."
It’s also important to note that Lapa do Santo isn’t only famous for the beheaded skull, as it has been well known for a while as the location of the oldest petroglyphs found in South America, holding inscriptions illustrating males with giant penises, together with pregnant females.
However, the decapitated skull isn’t the only find that put Lapa do Santo on the map: the site is also the location of the oldest petroglyphs found in South America, which included carvings depicting men with enormous phalluses as well as pregnant women.
H/T: Smithsonian Magazine
Source: PLOS One
Named Lapa do Santo, the place has long been famous for human inhabitants from 12,000 years ago, although the skull could be the oldest-known instance of a burial ritual focusing on the practice of head decapitation performed on the dead in the Americas.
While the evidence of skull worship and beheading for award purposes, the oldest decapitated remnants previously reported were about 3,000 years old.
However, the new discovery pushes that back by about 6,000 years and seems to have been a reflection of the deceased’s beliefs about death., and could also alter the common conception of South American beheading rites.
Source: PLOS One
Upon its discovery, the skull had markings on the vertebrae, proof that it was lopped off after its owner’s death. Scientists believe that it was possibly from a young male who was part of the society when they found two severed hands laid over his face in a ritual pose.
Archaeologists also think that this might have been the most sophisticated grave to have been discovered up to now, considering all the skeletal remnants excavated at the Lapa do Santo site. "This ritualized decapitation attests to the early sophistication of mortuary rituals among hunter-gatherers in the Americas," said Strauss.
"Geographically, it expands the known range of decapitation in more than 2,000 kilometers (about 1,240 miles), showing that during the early Holocene, this was not a phenomenon restricted to the western part of the continent as previously assumed."
Source: PLOS One
It’s also important to note that Lapa do Santo isn’t only famous for the beheaded skull, as it has been well known for a while as the location of the oldest petroglyphs found in South America, holding inscriptions illustrating males with giant penises, together with pregnant females.
However, the decapitated skull isn’t the only find that put Lapa do Santo on the map: the site is also the location of the oldest petroglyphs found in South America, which included carvings depicting men with enormous phalluses as well as pregnant women.
H/T: Smithsonian Magazine
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