Skull Deformation Traditions In Europe

Table of contents:

Video: Skull Deformation Traditions In Europe

Video: Skull Deformation Traditions In Europe
Video: Savannah Tucker: Overcoming a Skull Deformity 2024, March
Skull Deformation Traditions In Europe
Skull Deformation Traditions In Europe
Anonim
Image
Image

Maria Mednikova, Doctor of Historical Sciences, an employee of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, talks about the ancient tradition of deliberate deformation of the skull:

Europeans first encountered this tradition in the 4th century AD, when tribes appeared on the territory of Western Europe, which subsequently crushed the Roman Empire. These were the Huns, but with them came other tribes who had previously inhabited the expanses of the Eastern European steppes. These were Iranian-speaking tribes, such as the Alans, and among these peoples the custom of deforming the head, and in rather extreme forms, was unexpectedly widespread.

Photos taken in the Kislovodsk Museum of Local Lore

Image
Image

I think that for the then population of Europe, which developed under the significant influence of the Roman Empire, a collision with such unusual people in their appearance was in itself a great shock.

And if we consider that these people were still warriors who entered into combat clashes with the Roman army, and then were included in the Roman Empire, then we can assume that there was a great interest in this tradition. And in general, she could somehow influence the formation of the worldview of that era.

It was an annular deformation: the child's head was given an elongated shape by repeated bandages. This was probably done shortly after birth. For at least the first few years of life, the child wore such bandages.

There is a point of view that the deformation was a sign of a noble origin. And according to archaeological evidence, we know that among the peoples of the Alan circle, deformations are common precisely among the elite. In general, settlers from the East formed the so-called barbarian kingdoms on the territory of Western Europe, which, in a sense, served as the prototype of modern European states. Interestingly, many of them used artificial skull deformation.

- How long has the tradition of skull deformity existed in Europe and in the world?

- One of the Germanic anthropologists draws attention to the fact that even in the 5th century on the territory of Western Europe there are no remains of deformed children. That is, apparently, it was about male migration, and already the first settlers did not pass on the tradition to the new generation. And on the territory of Hungary this tradition has been preserved for a long time. Because Hungary - the territory of the Carpathian plain - is the western end of the huge Eurasian steppe corridor, where nomadic tribes who practiced this tradition lived. And there, in some ethnographic areas, this tradition reaches the 19th century. In Hungary, predominantly women were dressed with wooden structures under headscarves. That is, the head itself was not deformed, but the illusion was created that it was deformed.

Recommended: