According to the Ancient Origins website, archaeologists in Mexico have identified the first evidence of an unprecedented cranial deformation practice in the northern Huasteca region, revealing a distinctive square-shaped skull modification technique previously unknown at sites in this area. The remarkable discovery, made by specialists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), represents a significant breakthrough in understanding ancient Mesoamerican cultural practices and their regional variations.
The skull belonged to a man over 40 years old who lived during the Mesoamerican Classic period, between 400 and 900 AD, in what is now the Balcón de Montezuma archaeological zone in Tamaulipas. Physical anthropologist Jesús Ernesto Velasco González confirmed this represents the first proof that intentional cranial deformation was practiced at this urban center, located in the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains along Mexico’s Gulf Coast.
The discovery emerged from recent laboratory studies conducted as part of the project “New Explorations in the Balcón de Montezuma Archaeological Zone,” which INAH launched through its Tamaulipas center after a 30-year hiatus following initial investigations in the 1990s. Using contemporary perspectives and methodologies, researchers not only identified intentional cranial deformation for the first time at this type of site, but also discovered a variant never before reported in the region.
The skull exhibits what specialists call “tabular erect” deformation with a distinctive superior plane, creating what Velasco González describes as a parallelepiped or cube-like appearance.
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Source: Ancient Origins
