Cranial Vault Modification in the Mariana Islands

Summary

Cultural flattening of the posterior skull, rare in the Mariana Islands, was recently observed in multiple human skeletons from a Latte Period site in Guam. Prior to this study, only one case of possible artificial cranial modification was reported for this region. The cranium of a young adult female from Songsong Village, Rota, was described as having "asymmetrical deformation in the occipital region consistent with artificial shaping practices." In a review of the ethnohistoric literature, journal articles, available historic preservation compliance reports, and unpublished photographs, we evaluate the extent of cranial modification in the Mariana Islands. Using these resources, we identified crania from five burial assemblages in Guam, Tinian, and Rota that appear to have been culturally modified. Since these Latte Period sites each contain an early Spanish Historical Period component, it is possible a cultural practice that unintentionally (e.g., cradle boarding) or intentionally caused cranial modification was introduced shortly after European contact in 1521. Alternatively, this may have been a long-standing Chamorro practice that has been largely overlooked in pre-Contact burial assemblages. Results of this evaluation suggest modified crania are being under-reported in the region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22761