Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Kristina holds a Ph.D. in biological anthropology and an M.A. in classical archaeology from the University of North Carolina, as well as a B.A.
It's quick and easy to access Live Science Plus, simply enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up for our daily newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest science news.
ArchaeologyA coffin holding a dead 'princess' fell from an eroded cliff over 100 years ago — archaeologists just solved a major mystery about herUnlock instant access to exclusive member features.Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsSign up for the latest discoveries, groundbreaking research and fascinating breakthroughs that impact you and the wider world direct to your inbox.Feed your curiosity with an exclusive mystery every week, solved with science and delivered direct to your inbox before it's seen anywhere else.Sign up to our free science & technology newsletter for your weekly fix of fascinating articles, quick quizzes, amazing images, and moreSign up to our monthly entertainment newsletter to keep up with all our coverage of the latest sci-fi and space movies, tv shows, games and books.Discover this week's must-see night sky events, moon phases, and stunning astrophotos. Sign up for our skywatching newsletter and explore the universe with us!Humans have been fond of decorating and changing their bodies for thousands — if not tens of thousands — of years. Ancient human remains have preserved evidence of various types of body modification. Practices we would recognize today, including tattooing and lip plugging, have been found in 5,000-year-old mummies, while traces of abandoned practices, like foot binding and head shaping, can be seen in skeletons from thousands of years ago. Just as there are many reasons for modifying one's body nowadays, there were likely many drivers in the past, such as inclusion in a group, expression of one's individuality, and celebration of a life transition. 2,000-year-old skulls reveal people in ancient Vietnam permanently blackened their teeth — a stylish practice that persists today Also known as cranial vault modification, the practice of head shaping has been found throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, and it may have even been performed by. Head shaping is an ancient practice in which a mother or other caregiver wrapped an infant's head in soft bandages to encourage the skull bones to grow in a particular direction. Archaeologists have recovered numerous examples of shaped skulls, and several experts are working to understand the practice of head shaping and to figure out how far back it goes.. In both cases, skulls that are longer and narrower than average suggest head shaping occurred at least 12,000 years ago. Some of the many other cultures that have practiced head shaping include— a flat spot on the back of the head — wear helmets so their skulls will grow in a rounder shape.was taken up by the elite. This type of body modification involved tightly bandaging the feet of young girls so their bones would shift, creating extremely tiny-looking feet.Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors China tried to outlaw the practice several times in recent centuries because girls' bones would break, and when healed, the girls faced difficulties walking in their special"." Foot binding persisted in rural areas of China until about 1950, meaning there are likely still some Chinese women alive today whose feet were bound as a prerequisite for a"proper" marriage. Because most piercings are made in soft tissue, which does not preserve for very long after a person dies, archaeologists are not sure how far back this body modification practice goes. But some of the2,500-year-old 'primitive prosthetic' found on jaw of mummified Scythian woman who survived complex jaw surgery Centuries-old 'trophy head' from Peru reveals individual survived to adulthood despite disabling birth defectÖtzi the Iceman , who was discovered high in the Italian Alps. Analysis of his body has revealed his earlobes were purposefully stretched, likely as a cultural practice, 5,300 years ago. It is unclear if he wore any plugs in his earholes, though.revealed that people as young as 10 years old had teeth that were worn down on the cheek side, likely from cheek piercings called labrets. Long-term use of these labrets resulted in flat spots on the people's canines and bicuspids and caused their teeth to crowd together. Fantastical tattoos have been found on the mummified remains of Pazyryk people buried in the Siberian permafrost., a practice that has continued into the present. Many of Ötzi's 61 tattoos, all of which are simple lines and dots, were placed over areas of the body where he likely had pain from arthritis and injuries, suggesting his tattoos may have been medicinal, similar to acupuncture.Neck stretching is much less common than piercing or tattooing. As a body modification practice in some African and Asian cultures, such as the Kayan people of Burma,the neck, though, at least not in terms of a change in the vertebrae. Rather, the rings push down the person's collarbones and upper ribs, creating the illusion of an elongated neck, which is considered beautiful. When the rings are worn for several years, a person's neck and upper back muscles can become weak, but targeted exercises can remedy that.. Experts are unsure if the rings were from neck stretching, but they interpreted the discovery as an indicator of social status.Today's dentistry often aims to prevent tooth decay and alleviate the pain of cavities or infected jawbones. The earliest evidence that ancient people fixed their teeth comes from Lucca in northern Italy. About, a person's top two incisors were drilled and a tar-like substance was inserted. Artificial teeth used as implants have been found in the mouths of an But people have also been modifying their teeth for cosmetic purposes for nearly as long. While many of the cosmetic dental treatments people get today are aimed at making their teeth straighter and whiter, that hasn't always been the beauty ideal., which is the purposeful removal of otherwise healthy teeth, as it was thought to be aesthetically pleasing. And 500 years ago, people deliberately removed their top front teeth. In ancient Vietnam, archaeologists discovered that people rubbed their teeth with a paste containing iron to blacken them more than 2,000 years ago. Some experts thinkof kids with small, round pieces of jade, possibly as a rite of passage into adulthood. And in Scandinavia, the Vikings used an iron file to produceAn illustration of a woman's torso with and without a tight-laced corset.Many modern women look at the practice of corseting as a remnant of the Victorian era, when women tight-laced their torsos to produce a fashionable hourglass figure with a waist just 22 inches in diameter, on average.of female skeletons from France and England revealed that some women's bones were permanently modified from extremely tight corseting, resulting in the deformation of ribs and the protruding parts of the vertebrae. Corseting, particularly when started in childhood before a person's bones were fully formed, was a lifelong commitment for many women.. It also involves much more forgiving materials than Victorian boned corsets, such as spandex to hug the midsection and temporarily change its shape.A portrait of a Mundari tribe woman in south Sudan with scarifications on her forehead and cheek.Another form of skin modification is scarification, or the purposeful creation of cuts that form permanent designs when scarred over. Scarification, also known as cicatrization, may be as old as the delicate bone tools that could be used to make clean cutsdepending on the cultural group, but it has been used over the centuries as a form of group identity, a beautification tool and a rite of passage. One of the more extreme forms of body modification is castration, or the removal of the testicles. Surgical castration of humans goes back at least 3,000 years, and eunuchs — men whose testicles had been removed — are mentioned in, the Ottoman Empire and the Qing dynasty. Eunuchs often served as royal guards or government officials in antiquity, but the practice lasted into the 18th century, when some choir boys — castrati — were castrated before their voices changed in puberty to preserve their high singing voices.But either because the practice was rare or because archaeologists aren't used to looking for skeletal changes associated with castration, very few examples have been found to date. Two skeletons with features consistent with — offer the best evidence for what castration does to a skeleton and how archaeologists might be able to identify eunuchs in the future. Both men's skeletons revealed widespread osteoporosis and longer-than-average limb bones resulting from the hormonal effects of castration. Farinelli also had a thickened skull bone that is commonly seen in postmenopausal women, likely also the result of his prepubertal castration.Kristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Kristina holds a Ph.D. in biological anthropology and an M.A. in classical archaeology from the University of North Carolina, as well as a B.A. in Latin from the University of Virginia, and she was formerly a university professor and researcher. She has received awards from the Society for American Archaeology and the American Anthropological Association for her science writing.'They had not been seen ever before': Romans made liquid gypsum paste and smeared it over the dead before burial, leaving fingerprints behind, new research finds Gold coin discovered by a metal detectorist in the UK may have been dropped by a Viking invader from the Great Heathen Army Chewed-up orca fins on Russian beach point to cannibalism, and scientists say it may explain why some pods are so tight-knit
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Vanuatu's 'barefoot volcanologist' stands at ash- and sulfur-spewing Mount Yasur in award-winning photographHannah Osborne is the planet Earth and animals editor at Live Science. Prior to Live Science, she worked for several years at Newsweek as the science editor. Before this she was science editor at International Business Times U.K. Hannah holds a master's in journalism from Goldsmith's, University of London.
Read more »
Stone Age woman was buried like a man, revealing flexible gender roles 7,000 years ago in HungaryKristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Kristina holds a Ph.D. in biological anthropology and an M.A. in classical archaeology from the University of North Carolina, as well as a B.A.
Read more »
Woman arrested after six children test positive for alcohol at birthday partyKristina Lynn Tso, 40, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated child abuse
Read more »
Irvine teen breaks silence after at-home science lab sparks FBI hazmat investigationA 17-year-old just months away from earning his degree from UC Irvine is speaking out after his at-home science lab led to a weeklong investigation. He believes it's all a big misunderstanding.
Read more »
If Weed Helps Me Sleep, Why Does Science Say It Doesn't?Though many people say marijuana helps them sleep, the data doesn't stack up. See what the research says about why so many swear cannabis helps them sleep, even when research suggests otherwise.
Read more »
Climate disasters caused societal upheaval 3,000 years ago in China, study of 'oracle bones' hintsKristina Killgrove is a staff writer at Live Science with a focus on archaeology and paleoanthropology news. Her articles have also appeared in venues such as Forbes, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss. Kristina holds a Ph.D. in biological anthropology and an M.A. in classical archaeology from the University of North Carolina, as well as a B.A.
Read more »