A team of researchers discovered a conical skull from 6,000 years ago but was intrigued by a mysterious injury found on the top.
The cone-shaped skull was found in Chega Sofla, an archaeological site located in western Iran. The site contains several human graves of people who lived in the region between 4700 and 3700 BC.
The study, published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, is part of the Zohreh Prehistoric Project, a project involving excavation of the Chega Sofla site to discover and study buried bones and artifacts.
The research reveals that the conical skull belonged to a prehistoric woman, referred to as BG1.12. According to scientists, she appears to have undergone a process called cranial binding, which involves wrapping the head with bindings to give the skull a conical shape.
However, the researchers were particularly intrigued by a mysterious injury found on the left side of the head, a trauma that seems to have been the cause of her death.
Using computed tomography, scientists were able to analyze BG1.12’s fracture in detail. They noted that the modification made to the shape of her skull caused the thickness of the bone and the diploë (the spongy layer that acts as a shock absorber) to be thinner than normal.
As a result, she lost resistance and became more vulnerable to traumatic blows. However, the scientists were unable to determine whether the injury was caused by an attacker or was simply an accident.
“An intense force applied by an object with broad edges struck this young woman’s skull during her final moments,” the authors wrote in the study.
Photo and video: Zohreh Prehistoric Project. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
