New discoveries on artificially deformed skulls in the Youyilu cemetery,Kucha,Xinjiang
During the 2021-2022 excavation session of burials from Wei,Jin,and Northern and Southern Dynasties period at the Youyilu cemetery,Kucha,54 cases of artificially deformed skulls were discovered.Artificial cranial deformation is a long-standing cultural tradition that possesses both biological and cultural significance and has been practiced worldwide.The underlying causes for the behaviour and its forms of expression have been subjects of continuous scholarly attention.Our discovery in Kucha repre-sents the largest and most diverse repertoire of deformed skulls in Xinjiang to date.Morphological studies have produced the following preliminary conclusions:The deformational patterns of the skulls can be cate-gorised into three types-occipital,frontal-occipital,and annular.No significant differences in burial treatments were observed between individuals with deformed skulls and those without.Aesthetic prefer-ences from different origins may have been the main contributing factor to the coexistence of multiple de-formation patterns.This phenomenon of the concurrence of heterogeneity is a tangible reflection of the in-tegration of populations from diverse origins.Individuals with occipital and frontal-occipital deformations may have connections to the ancient populations of Central Asia,while the appearance of annular deform-ation skulls may suggest influences from the nomadic groups of the northern steppe regions.
the Youyilu Cemetery of KuchaArtificial Cranial DeformationKuchaWei,Jin,and Northern and Southern Dynasties Period
万方数据
维普
