New Stone Age – was head binding used on children in ancient Orkney?
Head binding may have been used on children in Orkney to change the skull shape of some of the islanders’ young during the Neolithic period, it has been claimed.
Dr Alison Sheridan, former long standing principal curator of prehistory at National Museums Scotland, raised the prospect of the practice during her Rhind lecture series for the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.
Head shaping of the young has been carried out by different cultures for different reasons through time. In pre-columbian America, it helped make society’s elite visually distinctive.
To some Native American tribes, a deliberately flattened forehead was a mark of freedom. In Papua New Guinea, one tribe modified their infants' heads in the belief it made their children more intelligent.
Dr Sheridan was discussing several skull abnormalities found among human remains at the 5,000-yearold Tomb of the Eagles at Isbister, Orkney, that had been identified by island-based osteologist Dr Dave Lawrence.
Dr Sheridan said a “broad hollow” across one woman’s skull had long been attributed by the guides at the Tomb of the Eagles visitor centre to “a lifetime of carrying heavy baskets with a head strap”.
“But that argument cannot be used in the case of a six to sevenyear-old child who also has a similar hollow. The incidence of ossicles, little supernumerary bones, could support the idea of head
binding as they can relate to pressure being put on the skull,” she added. Dr Sheridan said a number of the Isbister skulls were “curiously asymmetrical,” with a few showing misaligned eye sockets which may have led to visual impairment.
“Was that the result of deliberate skull shaping in early life?,” Dr Sheridan said.
Some believe the skull abnormalities at Isbister could be due to genetic factors but recent DNA evidence from ten people whose remains were found in the tomb has not revealed any relatedness between the individuals.
Dr Sheridan said: “Clearly more DNA analysis of the Isbister individuals needs to be done, and no doubt specialists will continue to debate the factors affecting head shape.”
Dr Lawrence, who runs Orkney Archaeology Tours and who has long researched remains at Tomb of the Eagles, said he was not convinced of the head binding theory.he said there had been “a variety of deformities and disabilities” found at the tomb.
Dr Lawrence added: “You wonder why so many diseased or deformed people are placed there. Among them is the earliest known case of human cancer in the UK. With all these things going on, you start to wonder why these people are there.”