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Boards and Cords

Tyler G. O'Brien
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ancient cranial modification
ancient skull modification
Author_Tyler G. O'Brien
brains
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cranial modification
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head modification
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human brains
human head
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human skull
human skulls
intentional cranial modification
modifying heads
modifying skulls
skull
skull modification

Product details

  • ISBN 9781538183489
  • Weight: 440g
  • Dimensions: 161 x 235mm
  • Publication Date: 22 Feb 2024
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
  • Publication City/Country: US
  • Product Form: Hardback
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Description

Archaeological evidence and ethnohistoric accounts document ancient groups from around the world intentionally binding their infants’ head in one of two manners. Soon after birth they would either strap hard, flat devices (e.g., boards) to both the front and back of the infant’s head, or wrap tight bandages (e.g., cords) around the head. The result is a permanently modified, adult head.

In Boards and Cords, bioarchaeologist and skeletal biologist, Tyler G. O’Brien, explores the long-practiced, biocultural phenomenon of intentional cranial modification via an anthropological lens. An introductory chapter offers briefly summarized answers to main questions often asked about cranial modification. The book then covers normal cranial growth and development to set the groundwork for understanding better how scientists interpret abnormally shaped pathological skulls from those that are modified. What follows is a thorough exploration of archaeological evidence and ethnohistoric accounts beginning with the earliest modified skulls, found at sites dating back 20,000 years, and continuing to today’s modern-day use of the cranial orthotic helmet as corrective treatment for infants with deformational plagiocephaly.

This book is a valuable multidisciplinary tool for the student and scholar who wants to read a global account of intentional cranial modification.
About Tyler G. O'Brien
Tyler G. O’Brien is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Northern Iowa. His research focuses on human skeletal biology with emphases in forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology, and he has published in American Journal of Physical Anthropology, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, and the Journal of Forensic Sciences. O’Brien’s research includes excavation in the Bolivian altiplano and cranial data collection at museums in Bolivia and Argentina. He has examined close to 1,500 human skulls from across North and South America.

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