Cranial Modification in Coastal Peru at the Site of CuzCuz, Huarmey Valley, Peru

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Cultural cranial modification is practiced in many cultures and has been interpreted to signify different facets of identity. In 2022, a surface collection from Sector A of the pre-Hispanic cemetery of CuzCuz revealed 12 complete adult crania with cultural cranial modification. These crania were discovered out of context—looted from their original burials. Regardless, information regarding the sex distribution and the degree of cranial modification can be explored. These individuals present bilobal modification, a type of the tabular form. Out of the 12 adult individuals, only two were female. In addition, the degree of cranial deformation varied among individuals, perhaps due to varying time each maintained the wrapping of the head and/or other intraindividual variables (size, age, etc.). Additional potential implications of cranial modification, such as the presence of interparietal bones and extrasutural ossicles, are also considered. These individuals highlight the presence of cultural cranial modification in the Huarmey Valley, even though in situ burials demonstrating this phenomenon have not yet been uncovered. ***This presentation will include images of human remains.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52798