7th World Congress on Mummy Studies University of San Diego San ...

of. infesting. agents.. The. tissues. were. hydrated. and. then. treated.
with. hematoxylin-eosin,. trichromic. Masson’s,. Mallory’s. and.Van.
Gieson’s. and. PAS. staining.. The. preparations. were. examined. by.
conventional. transmission. light. microscopy. and. polarized. light.
microscopy.
Traces. of. black. pigment. were. always. detected,. apparently.
deposited.on.the.surface.of.the.integument..Histological.preservation.was.highly.variable.among.samples,.and.sometimes.in.different.parts.of.the.same.sample..Moreover,.in.the.same.histological.
section,.we.could.observe.a.well-preserved.integument.as.well.as.
the.same.structure.completely.altered.by.the.development.of.fungal.
structures.(spores)..Yet.in.many.instances.it.was.possible.to.observe.
histological.structures.sufficiently.preserved.to.allow.safe.identification.of.the.integument.of.a.bird,.feathers.and.their.follicles..In.no.
circumstance.was.the.identification.of.mammalian.tissues.possible.
333 Shrinking Misconceptions: A Neutral Perspective on Shuar
Tsantsas,. CHEyENNE MCCARTHy* and BENJAMIN
KOOBA.(Department.of.Anthropology,.University.of.San.Diego,.
5998.Alcala. Park,. San. Diego,. CA. 92110;. cmccarthy@sandiego.
edu).
The.Shuar,.an.indigenous.tribal.culture.located.in.the.Upper.
Amazon.of.Ecuador.and.Peru,.are.infamously.known.for.shrinking.
their. dead. enemies’. heads..This. tradition. is. often. interpreted.
with.bias.and.negativity..But.tsantsas.have.deeper.meaning:.they.
maintain.the.delicate.balance.between.physical.and.spirit.worlds,.
reinforce. Shuar. religious. ideology,. and. bestow. power. upon. their.
makers..Tsantsas.are.sacred.talismans.that.Shuar.men.make.to.protect.themselves.from.the.vengeful.spirits.trapped.within.the.heads..
The.shrinking.process.involves.methodical.preparation.(including.
shamanic.consultation),.extensive.time.and.energy,.and.is.followed.
by.feasting.and.celebration..This.project.aims.to.foster.awareness.
and.understanding.of.the.Shuar.by.presenting.an.objective.glimpse.
into.their.unique.practice.of.making.tsantsas..We.diverge.from.the.
traditional.biased.perspective,.and.instead.convey.the.history.and.
significance. of. tsantsa. production,. in. order. to. dispel. misconceptions..
Tolerance. is. a. critical. anthropological. issue.. Our. poster. is.
a.visual.medium.through.which.we.resolve.to.illustrate.our.goal:.
diminishing.cultural.prejudice.and.increasing.tolerance..By.educating.the.public.about.the.Shuar.as.a.people,.we.encourage.respect.
for.their.traditions,.and.acceptance.of.the.differences.between.our.
culture.and.theirs.
334 Historical Context of Tsantsa, TOBIAS HOULTON (Centre.
for.Anatomy.and.Human.Identification,.MSI/TMW.Complex,.Dow.
Street,. University. of. Dundee,. Scotland,. DD1. 5EH;. tobias.houlton@hotmail.com).
Tsantsa.(shrunken.heads).are.of.historic,.religious,.and.tribal.
significance..The.Shuar.tribes.of.South.America.are.renowned.for.
the.ritual.of.tsantsa.production,.which.was.also.practiced.by.a.number.of.tribes.from.North-Western.South.America.and.Mesoamerica..
In.the.late.1800s,.native.tribesmen,.realising.an.opportunity.
for.trade,.exchanged.superfluous.tsantsa for.guns.and.ammunition.
from.interested.travellers..In.the.early.1900s,.the.Native.American.
custom.of.head.shrinking.was.adapted.for.financial.gain.by.Western.
settlers.in.Ecuador,.Columbia,.Panama,.and.Peru..Initially.produced.
for.a.macabre,.but.brisk.curio.trade.among.Europeans.fascinated.in.
authentic.tribal.shrunken.heads,.counterfeit.heads.were.acquired.via.
unethical.sources.and.unscrupulous.standards.
This. research. examines. the. development. and. social. context. of.
ABSTRACTS.–.Contributed.Posters
tsantsa.production.among.Native.Indians.and.Europeans..Motivation.and.method.of.practices.often.perceived.as.magical,.idiosyncratic,.and.grim.are.explored.
335 Facial Analysis of a Tsantsa: A Shrunken Head from the Shuar
Tribes of South America, TOBIAS HOULTON (College.of.Anatomy.and.Human.Identification,.MSI/TMW.Complex,.Dow.Street,.
University. of. Dundee,. DD1. 5EH,. Scotland;. tobias.houlton@hotmail.com).
Original.MSc.research.was.on.a.tsantsa.(shrunken.head).from.
the.McManus.Museum.in.Dundee.and.thought.to.be.from.the.Shuar.
Tribes.in.South.America..It.challenged.recent.speculation.that.the.
head. was. simian,. and. not. an. authentic. example. of. human. head.
shrinking..The.tsantsa.was.assessed.for.sex.and.age.and.the.effects.
of.shrinking.on.facial.morphology,.studied.using.pig.heads..A.3D.
facial. approximation. was. attempted. using. a. laser. scanner. (Fast-
SCAN.Scorpion).and.3D.modelling.software.(FreeForm.Modelling.
Plus)..
To.establish.the.identity.of.the.McManus.tsantsa,.morphologies.
of. extant. authenticated. human. tsantsa,. a. shrunken. monkey.
head,.and.living.simian.morphologies.were.assessed..Microscopic.
hair.analysis.confirmed.the.tsantsa.as.human,.of.Mongoloid.ancestry..Population.demographics.resulted.in.the.head.being.estimated.
as.male,.age.20-30.years..
The. tsantsa. scan. was. constructed. utilizing. craniofacial. measurements,.
obtained. from. the. McManus. tsantsa. and. superimposed.
subject.photographs..A.scanned.template.cranium.was.manipulated.
in.FreeForm.to.conform.to.extant.Peruvian.craniofacial.measurements,.and.a.template.mandible.developed.using.Sassouni.Analysis,.providing.a.hypothetical.scaffold.for.reconstruction..Texturing.and.tribal.decoration.was.applied.with.Autodesk.Maya.2010..Verification.of.the.reconstruction.was.not.possible.due.to.the.absence.of.
ante-mortem.photographs.
336 Facial Reconstruction of an Anga Mummy, ANDREW J.
NELSON 1 , VICTORIA LyWOOD 2 , and RONALD G. BECK-
ETT 3 *.( 1 Department.of.Anthropology,.The.University.of.Western.
Ontario,.London,.ON,.Canada,.N6A.5C2;. 2 John.Abbott.College,.21.
275.Lakeshore.Road,.Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue,.Québec,.H9X.3L9,.
Canada;. 3 Bioanthropology.Research.Institute,.Quinnipiac.University,.Hamden,.Connecticut,.c/o.16010.South.11
th. ,.Place.#31,.Phoenix,.Arizona.85048;.ronald.beckett@quinnipiac.edu).
The.Anga. People.of.Papua. New.Guinea. are. known.to. have.
practiced.an.elaborate.mortuary.ritual.that.consisted.of.smoking.the.
body.of.their.loved.ones.in.a.special.hut.for.a.period.of.weeks..The.
mummified.individuals.were.then.placed.on.cliff.faces.overlooking.their.lineage’s.territory..The.practice.was.halted.by.missionaries.40.to.50.years.ago..The.work.reported.on.here.arises.from.a.2010.expedition.to.study.Anga.mummies.and.to.undertake.an.ethnographic.study.of.the.modern.Anga.people..The.main.rationale.the.
modern.people.offer.for.the.practice.is.that.the.descendants.wished.
to.look.on.the.faces.of.their.people,.so.keeping.their.memory.alive..
Unfortunately,.the.ravages.of.time.have.led.to.the.deterioration.the.
mummy’s.faces..The.project.described.here.demonstrates.the.use.of.
forensic.techniques.to.reconstruct.the.face.of.one.mummy.
The. mummy. described. here. is. Moimango,. a. leader,. warrior.
and.shaman,.whose.descendants.still.live.in.the.village.of.Koke..
Standard. anatomical. photos. and. measurements. were. taken. of.
Moimango’s.skull..Tissue.thickness.depths,.available.from.a.1903.
study,.and.the.photos.and.measurements.were.used.to.create.lateral.
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