An unusually blocky human skull was discovered at a Mesoamerican site in the state of Tamaulipas (Mexico). Metro reports this.
The area was inhabited by various Mesoamerican ethnic groups between 650 BC and 1200 AD. The 1,400-year-old male skull provides the first evidence that people in the area practiced achieving unique head shapes through intentional deformation.
Biological anthropologist Jesus Ernesto Velasco Gonzalez explains that although artificially modified skulls have been discovered in the area before, the shape of this man's skull is unique – the bones resemble a parallel skull. This effect is achieved using a special compression angle of the head in the parietal bone area.
The man's unusual head shape may have special cultural significance that is still unknown, researchers say.
The day before, in the English county of Suffolk, the oldest traces of a fire in European history were discovered, lit 400 thousand years ago.
