Extreme Measures

For Chris Kowalczyk, investigating the mysteries of ancient man is all in a day’s work.

His fascination with archaeological history began with field work at Mont Repose, a rice and cotton plantation near Ridgeland, S.C., and as a member of the initial team that discovered Camp Lawton, a former Civil War prisoner camp in Millen, Ga.

Kowalczyk, however, has now turned his attention to other rare treasures – skulls. “I’ve always been interested in the history of humans,” explained Kowalczyk. “It was neat to find buttons and pottery, but it wasn’t a bone.”

The graduate student is now researching the stories that lie behind the modification of ancient skulls across different cultures through cutting-edge 3D laser scanning. Kowalczyk wants to know: What happens to brains after practicing this odd custom, and how have humans been affected?

Thousands of years ago, Queen Nefertiti probably boasted an elongated skull, and who can forget the alien-like skull discovered in Peru in the movie “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?”

Kowalczyk is working with professor Matt Williamson, the director of the University’s Human Osteology and Gross Anatomy Laboratories and a biological anthropologist in the Department of Health and Kinesiology. For many years, Williamson has devoted a considerable amount of time to researching Native American populations and is a forensic anthropologist working with law enforcement on the analysis of human remains.

Traditionally, measuring skulls is done with spread and slide calipers, said Kowalcyzk, but he revealed that there are some distinct advantages to using a skull scan, which he likens to a fingerprint. “The scans produce 26 different measurements on a skull – many more than a caliper. For example, if I measure a femur bone, I will have the shape and size of the entire surface. If I used a caliper, I would not have all of these measurements. The scans also increase the accuracy of determining the sex or race of a person,” Kowalcyzk explained.

“Measuring skulls and bones is not anything new, but we can do more with these new scans. For example, we can archive scans and go back to get more information in the future,” said Williamson, which can also be helpful in forensic ID cases. Kowalcyzk agreed. “The calipers provide valuable measurements, but the numbers are the only information that a scientist can refer to once the skull has been buried.”

While these detailed scans can be used to study the varied cranial modifications around the world, scientists do know one thing for sure: different cultures had different reasons for changing their skull shapes.

The Mayans observed the practice to honor their gods, while the Egyptians followed the practice because it defined their elite social status. Williamson said it was a custom observed in the United States as well.

“In Georgia, there are a few archaeological sites where individuals display unusually shaped skulls. For some, the change was intentional, but for others there was a functional cause. For example, heavy loads were carried on their backs using a tumpline, which is a strap that wraps around the front of their head and over time would create a flattened forehead,” he explained about the 100-plus year customs followed by Native American tribes near Columbus, Ga., in the mid-1600s.

Another familiar practice which unintentionally changed the shape of children’s skulls in many different cultures, was a cradle board. “Mothers carried their babies in a small wooden or reed back pack,” said Williamson. The infants were secured in the baby carrier with a strap across their forehead to keep them from falling out, but it changed the shape of their heads in the process.

“If we can understand how the skull changes and adapts, it will help us understand genetic abnormalities and we can see how a child’s growth is affected,” said Kowalcyzk, explaining how these scans might one day solve medical mysteries.

While the cranial modification of skulls might be an unusual concept, Williamson says people continue to modify their bodies in today’s society – just in different ways. “In the present, we continue to express ourselves through body modifications such as tattoos and piercings.”

—Mary Beth Spence