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Plastered skulls

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

Human skulls with material added to model a face, sometimes with shell eyes; postmortem treatment distinct from modification during life.

Plastered skull from Jericho, Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, displayed at the British Museum. An ancient modeled face on human remains, not a modern facial reconstruction
Plastered skull from Jericho, Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, displayed at the British Museum. An ancient modeled face on human remains, not a modern facial reconstructionZunkir; image cleanup: Pataliputra / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SALicense · Image source

Text

This treatment occurs in Levantine Neolithic traditions. Ancestor interpretation requires context; the archaeological label does not automatically disclose belief. Childhood modification and later plastering can coexist in one person.[1][2]

References and notes

  1. British Museum catalog of the Jericho plastered skull, a witness to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B tradition. British Museum 1954,0215.1 Return to the text ↑
  2. Published abstract of the radiographic study identifying childhood modification and connecting mortuary treatment with life practices; the paywalled full article was not consulted. Fletcher, Pearson & Ambers, 2008; CAJ 18(3), 309–325; abstract consulted Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 12 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

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Cite this record

IL Archive, «Plastered skulls», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/plastered-skull