Observations placeholder
Jane M Renfrew - Neanderthal symbolic behaviour - Head binding
Identifier
021729
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
The Skeletons of Shanidar Cave is a rare cache of hominid fossils from the Kurdistan area of northern Iraq that offers a window on Neanderthal culture. Many theories have been advanced on the purpose of head binding – see the link, but one we have not mentioned is that in these extremely old groups of people that they were attempting to copy an even earlier race of humans that have never been discovered.
A description of the experience
Jane M Renfrew – Neanderthal symbolic behaviour – Head binding
There is evidence for another interesting aspect of Neanderthal attitudes to life: study of two of the skulls found in the Shanidar cave, Shanidar 1 and 5, show signs that their heads had been bound and artificially distorted, probably with a flexible band worn for six to twelvemonths when they were very young, which made their heads flat in front and rounded behind.
The drawing below shows the methods used by the Maya to bind heads
