A team of researchers have uncovered the remains of 16 humans – finding them with “heart-shaped” skulls which may have been intentionally deformed.
Recent excavations at La Ferrería Archaeological Zone in Durango, Mexico, led to the surprising discovery.
Researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) searched the Casa Colorado complex, where they found the remains under the floor of a plaza.
The discovery included eight adults aged between 30 and 40 at their time of death, and eight children aged between 1 and 7 years old.
They are estimated to date back to between 600-950 AD.
Three of the adults were found in a good state of preservation, but the remaining skeletons were found in pieces.
Most notably, researchers found cranial modifications in the skulls of two of the skeletons – which indicates the heads had been intentionally deformed.
The team found that when viewed from certain angles, the skulls resembled a heart shape.
Such a find had not been previously reported at the site, but the practice of intentional deformation of skulls has been documented throughout history in various ancient cultures worldwide.
The report from INAH reads: “In the skulls of two of the individuals, cranial modification of the bilobed erect tabular type was observed.
“This means that they intentionally deformed their heads in the shape of a ‘heart’, a fact that until now had not been reported on the site.
“As it is a multiple funerary context linked to a public space, two hypotheses have been put forward: it is possible that the burials were used to sacralize the place; or, to guard it, having been placed as part of the foundations of the square, under the stone pavement.
“In this sense, and by association with the architecture of the space where they were found, it is estimated that the age of these oscillates between the years 600-950 AD.”
The complex was found in the upper part of La Ferrería and covers around 6,500 sq ft.
La Ferrería was inhabited between 600-1350 AD and is considered one of the most important monumental sites in Durango, and the only archaeological zone open to the public in the state.
