Researchers atWestern Universityfound Tsantzaor Shrunken Headsin theChatham collection. Confirmed - The Kent Museum is made of real human remains, not reproductions.
A research team including members from the University of San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador was able to verify the authenticity of the tsantzas using CT and micro-CT scanning techniques, according to Western. said the release.
The validation is "an important step in the global effort towards the preservation and understanding of decolonization and indigenous history," the release said.
"This novel scanning approach is an important first step toward authenticating tsantzas. Human remains, art objects, and more are currently in public and private collections around the world." , as the international community is changing its mindset towards indigenous-led repatriation of archaeological artifacts.”
was donated to the organization by the local Sulman family in the 1940s after being purchased in the Amazon basin from the "Peruvian Indians" of South America. Original Accession Record, Release says.
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"I didn't really know anything about that shrunken head. Late 1800s to 1900s It's not at all uncommon for early collections," said the chairman of the Western Anthropology Department,last week in the journal PLOS One
"Travelers will find these things Bought it, took it home and eventually donated it to the museum.We don't really know more about it.That was one of the goals of this project, but what more can we learn?
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According to research, ethnohistorical sources show that ceremonial tsantzas were collected after battle by the Shuar and Achuar peoples of Ecuador and northern Peru, and were the shrunken heads of their enemies as trophies. It is suggested that it was created
The practice was an attempt to "trap the vengeful spirit of the deceased and protect the winner from spiritual revenge," the paper said.
"By creating a tsantsa, the spirit's powers have no unintended effects on the living, as the eyes and mouth are closed, so the soul is trapped within the corpse. Tsantzas were then displayed inside certain houses and on utility poles, and were not worn as suggested by much of the existing anthropological literature.”
According to the
newspapers that follow, European settlers and missionaries, who began commercial production of tsantzas shortly after the Shuar and Attuar peoples began trading relations in the early to mid-1800s, reported that I got the head as part of a collection.
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Tsantzas are common in museums, but it is not It was difficult. It uses human remains, or skins from animals such as pigs, monkeys and sloths, and occasionally human hair plugs for the commercial market, the paper said.
"It soon became apparent that there was a real market for these. Some were complete fakes, made of animal skins, etc., while others were actually human." says Nelson.
"There is some kind of rumor about this — nothing is actually proven — but there are rumors that they actually take the heads of people who have died in hospitals and make shrunken heads. Selling them as genuine shrunken heads.
Researchers were able to confirm that the head in the Chatham Kent Museum was made of human bone, but whether it was the result of ceremonial purposes or made for the commercial market.
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He points out that he identified features suggestive of both rough cuts and double-hidden”). ) and commercial production (“Using modern threads for posterior incision, eye and lip stitching.”)
is that we may need to reconsider this strict dichotomy between what is manufactured in Think about it, how much variability there is in terms of the manufacturing of these things...and we're starting to talk about variability in cultural practices, and...as an anthropologist, that's a lot more interesting.
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According to Nelson, one Ecuadorian researcher, María Ordonez, has worked directly with the Shuar on tsantza research. What is their aboriginal perspective, their oral her history about these things.
"The really next step is to work with Maria and Shuar and say, 'Is there anything else you would like to know about scanning that we can help you with?'" he said. rice field.
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Nelson says he is also in talks with the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, England. According to the museum website, one of his was acquired between his 1884 and his 1936.
The museum has taken Tsantza off display in 2020, but the museum continues to research and continues to research. Work with Shuar in determining the culturally appropriate way to present your head to the public, Nelson said.
This researcher's paper can be read in full on thePLOS One website
— with files from Matthew Trevithick
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