Photo: Screenbound Pictures
A shrunken head that was used in the 1979 dark comedyWise Bloodswas recently authenticated and confirmed to have been real human remains.
In the filmWise Bloods, the shrunken head was attached to a fake tiny body and became the object of worship from one of the characters.
“The singular artifact in this paper is presumed to be an authentic tsantsa composed of human tissue,” professors Byron and Kiefer wrote in their research paper.
The scientists at Mercer University performed countless tests over the years to authenticate the artifact so that it could be returned to Ecuador’s government.
“It’s a relief to have the specimen out of our possession,” Byron toldThe Art NewspaperMonday. “It had ‘underground’ value; it was illegal to trade or sell; it was the skin from a person’s head.”
He added, “We had no business holding on to this item. It was a rewarding conclusion to a project hanging around since 2015.”
The Mercer University scientists added that they are made from the skin “of enemies slain during combat” and were believed to contain “the spirit of the victim and all their technical knowledge and thus were considered to possess supernatural qualities and represent a source of personal power for the owner.”
The experts revealed the artifacts became “monetarily valuable as keepsakes and curios during the nineteenth century.”
Because of the value placed on the heads, experts had to spend years testing the tsantsa’s size, structure, hair, hairstyle and many other factors. They also performed CT scans.
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Over the years, scammers tried to replicate tsantas using animals, synthetic materials or “the heads of European victims,” in order to get money for the items, the Mercer University scientists wrote.
“We were able to affirm 30 of the 33 authenticating indicators,” they revealed of the shrunken head used inWise Bloods.
source: people.com
