E.T.
Lilo & Stitch.
Coneheads.
District 9.
Predator.
All of these popular movies have one thing in common: they
are all based on aliens, or extra-terrestrial beings that come from faraway
places in the universe. The mythos
surrounding aliens are numerous, with a variety of ideas about aliens existing
throughout many Western cultures. There
continues to be quite the obsession about aliens, perpetuated by popular
television shows dedicated to their discovery and understanding. One such show, Ancient Aliens, focuses specifically on archaeological studies to
demonstrate the lengthy existence of aliens from pre-history to modern times. But how valid is the information alleged by
this show? Does archaeological evidence
support the existence of aliens? Today’s
blog post is dedicated to debunking three popular myths about aliens in
relation to archaeology: aliens among us, alien landing strips, & an alien
mummy.
Alien Myth 1: Aliens
Among Us
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| Figure 1: ACM Styles (Images after Blom, 2005) |
It is unclear what specifically initiated this
cross-cultural practice of ACM. This
uncertainty is used by some to support the idea of contact between ancient
humans and aliens. There are, however,
some ideas and supporting evidence to explain why some cultures began practicing
ACM and it was not due to alien contact.
According to the Popol Vuh, a
Post-Classic Mayan text that contains the religious narratives of the Maya
people (akin to the Christian Bible
or Muslim Koran), the ancient Maya
were instructed by their gods to manipulate their skulls into the shape of corn,
which was based on the belief that the gods created humans out of corn. Some scholars believe that ancient Egyptians
may have begun modifying their skulls in order to mimic the appearance of the
elongated skull of the Pharaoh Akhenaten.
Akhenaten may have suffered from Marfan’s syndrome, which caused him to
have an elongated skull, and based on Egyptian iconography it is believed that
many Egyptian citizens followed suit to honor their god king. These are just two hypotheses that exist to
explain the inception of ACM practices, and these may be clues as to why other
cultures began to practice ACM: be it to mimic the natural world around them or
the pathological conditions of their leaders or prominent members. There are logical explanations for this
practice, and jumping straight to the alien conclusion is unnecessary and
farfetched. Therefore, this alien myth
is
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| Image Source: Meme Center |
Alien Myth 2:
Alien Landing Strips
The Nasca Lines are a series of geoglyphs,
or drawings imprinted on the earth. The
Nasca Lines are located in southern Peru and date from 200 to 600 years ago,
when the Nasca culture existed in the region.
The Nasca Lines depict 300 figures, ranging from natural fauna (e.g.
primates and spiders) to geometric shapes (e.g. spirals and triangles). The series of geometric shapes and one anomalous
shape dubbed the “astronaut” (Figure 2) led Erich von Daniken to conclude that
the Nasca people created these geoglyphs as landing strips for and
communication with extra-terrestrials.
As you can imagine von Daniken’s hypothesis is not a popular
one among archaeological scholars, who have dedicated years of scientific study
to why the Nasca Lines were created.
While no definitive conclusion as to their purpose has been reached
there are several strong hypotheses that currently exist. Many of these hypotheses focus on the religious
significance of the Nasca Lines, associating them with the existence of a past
cult dedicated to the acquisition of water.
Southern Peru is home to the Atacama Desert, which has been and
continues to be the world’s driest desert, so water is scarce. Therefore it is believed that the Nasca Lines
were used in rituals to bring water to the region. Other scholars believe that the Nasca Lines were
instead used to designate trade routes, particularly between highland and
coastal inhabitants. The figures
depicted in the Nasca Lines resemble other geoglyphs found in other nearby
regions, specifically in northern Chile.
Although these other geoglyphs are not as grand in scale but are still
quite large they are strongly associated with designating trade networks as
they can be seen from a great distance. Further
study of the Nasca Lines is ongoing and more and more evidence is being
uncovered daily, which is narrowing the motivations for their creation and
purpose. Based on these reasonable
explanations and continued study of the Nasca Lines, there remains little
support of the Nasca Lines being associated with extra-terrestrials of any
sort, and therefore this myth is
 |
| Figure 2: The Astronaut, Nasca Lines (Google Images) |
|
| Image Source: Meme Center |
Alien Myth 3:
Alien Mummy
A little over a decade ago a small humanoid mummy was
discovered in the Atacama Desert by Oscar Munoz (Figure 3). The mummy was no more than six inches in
length and nicknamed “Ata”. It had a
large, cone shaped head and lithe frame, which resembles several modern day descriptions
of aliens. The physical appearance of
the mummy led many to conclude that it was that of an alien, but several
anthropological and biological scholars believed that there was a more
reasonable explanation for “Ata”, hypothesizing it was a premature and
spontaneous aborted child, an infant with a severe malformation, or a South
American primate.
 |
| Figure 3: "Ata", The Presumed "Alien" Mummy of the Atacama Desert (Image Source: Bryner, 2013) |
Unfortunately, the mystery had to wait at least a decade to
be solved because the field of genetics was not prepared to adequately test the
DNA for this ancient mummy, but in 2013 scholars published the results of their
genetic analyses, which concluded that “Ata” was indeed human, not alien. But that was not the only piece of evidence
revealed by these studies. Scholars
further affirmed that the mummy was that of a 6 to 8 year old child who
suffered from some unknown malformations.
Further study of “Ata” is ongoing in order to conclude what led to his
or her death and small size that is abnormal for the age of death. Therefore, this alien myth is unequivocally
 |
| Image Source: Meme Center |
Blackwood B, Danby PM.
1955. A study of artificial
cranial deformation in New Britain. Journal of the Royal Anthropological
Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 85:
173-191.
Blom D. 2005. Embodying borders: human body modification and diversity in Tiwanaku society. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 24: 1-24.
Brain
R. 1979. The Decorated Body.
Hutchinson: London.
Bryner, J. 2013. "Teensy alien-looking skeleton from Chile poses a medical mystery." LiveScience.
Dingwall EJ. 1931.
Artificial Cranial Deformation: A
Contribution to the Study of Ethnic
Mutilation.
John Bale and Sons and Danielsson, Ltd.: London.
Weiss P. 1961.
Osteología Cultural, Prácticas Cefálicas: 2da Parte, Tipología de alas
Deformaciones Cefálicas -- Estudio Cultural de los Tipos Cefálicos y de Algunas
Enfermedades Oseas. Universidad
Nacional Mayor de San Marcos: Peru.
51 comments:
wow, reading about the small Ata was the first time I have ever heard about the Ata. By just looking at it you would think it looks just like that of a alien. Then reading on, you do find out it is a child. I wonder if that's where they got the look of an alien. It doesn't look real at all.
James K. - Anth 101
It's funny how the "Discovery Channel" continuously glosses over more meaningful conversations on the subject.
Whats your take on bacteria in space? Do you believe it to be all hoax?
I have no opinion on the topic of bacteria in space because I do not know enough about the topic to form an opinion that I feel comfortable giving. I prefer to learn as much about a topic as possible before having and providing an opinion on topics.
Myth One seems very strange to me because I don't know how these ancient people would be able to re-shape the curvature of the skull like that, without harming the brain or the life of the subject. It would be a very delegate process over the course of many years, but I still don't understand HOW (not why) they could practice such a 'ritual' when we probably can't even do this with our modern day technology.
However, if you have ever heard of 'The Star Child,' that could be used as evidence to prove this myth (this ties into the third myth a little). About 70 or 80 years ago, a young Mexican girl was exploring and pondered upon a cave. When she went inside, she found two bodies, a mother and a baby. The mother was holding the baby in her arms, but what has confused many people is that the mother looked human, but her child only looked half human. Now, the child was too young to have already practiced ACM, unless it suffered from Dwarfism, or it did practice ACM but lost parts of its skull in the process. Maybe the child had a genetic disposition that made his skull disfigured, or his mother was somehow under the influence of tobacco while she was pregnant. From my knowledge of understanding, from all of the tests we have done on 'The Star Child,' we have confirmed that only half of its record-able DNA are human. The other half are unknown.
This, along with Kurt Vonnegut's book "Chariot Of The Gods" and many other sources, has led to, what I believe is called, "The Missing Link Theory." It is the theory that thousands of years ago, aliens came to our planet, took our gold, and fornicated with our women. The result can well possible be, 'The Star Child.'
https://badarchaeology.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/starchild_skull.jpg
https://badarchaeology.wordpress.com/tag/starchild/
As far as Myth Two goes, it has been suggested that these geoglyphs were made, not only as a landing strip or communications with 'The Gods,' but some speculate that it was used to honor the gods and all of their creations. If E.T.'s came down to our planet back then, I would think that these people would assume that these beings are the gods because they came down from the heavens with very advanced technology. What could have they done with said technology? And also, what do we do with our God(s)? We honor them. The Greeks built temples. The Egyptians build the pyramids and the Sphinx (for their Pharaoh, but they were under the impression that he was a God, much similar to Modern Day Kim Jong Un of North Korea). Muslims build Masques. Why wouldn't the Nazca be any different? Plus, they are not the only culture in Central America to do this: The Maya and the Aztec built temples and shrines for their Gods (and kings and leaders). I don't remember off the top of my head what it is called, but in Central America, there is one cluster of pyramids that is suppose to represent the Sun and all of the planets in our solar system. The scary part is is that the sun temple was the biggest, the sencond largest represented Jupiter as the seventh temple, Saturn as the third biggest and the sixth temple, and so on and so forth. But that begs the question, how did they know what our solar system looks like without any type of known astronomy system. This has led to the conclusion that it was mapped out for them by a higher being, maybe an alien from out of this world.
Just some food for thought that could possibly support the existence of aliens and that our ancient ancestors were visited by them.
I'm having trouble grasping the scientific analysis of the Ata. I mean, how on Earth (pun) can you explain that this skeleton belonged to a 6-8 year old child? I don't find is hard to grasp that the remains are human, more likely in my mind to be from a very premature birth due to its size. How is it that all of the known documented cases of tiny people in the past 200 years or so have been much larger (22 inches +) in comparison to Ata? Do I think Ata was an alien? No. But I find myself questioning the explanation given relative to the age attributed to Ata. Would love to hear more on that subject from others!
Ryan, you have some interesting ideas, but I feel that you need to be aware of a few things:
First, artificial cranial modification (ACM) was and had to be practiced on infants usually within days (if not sooner) of birth. We have a lot of ethnographic and ethnohistoric evidence that supports this, and the scientific knowledge of the plasticity of the skull and when it becomes ossified (meaning when an infant's head goes from cartilaginous tissue to hard bone tissue, hence why many people warn about being careful with baby's heads). This plasticity allows for all sorts of cranial shapes to be created, and as many as 16 different ACM styles have been identified in one region (northern Chile. Analysis of which was completed by Marvin Allison & colleagues and published in Chungara in 1981).
As for the potential pathological consequences of the practice, they are actually very few. The brain paces cranial bone growth, and the brain is very malleable and very resilient. It has to be given how our species (humans) is so dependent on the brain for our basic survival, particularly given that we have very little else to help us survive-our skin does not adequately protect us from the elements, our stature is not big enough to be intimidating to most predators, and we have nails, not claws, which provide us no real protection in attack. Several studies have been conducted and each have demonstrated that there is very little consequence to this practice because if there was then it would not have been done for thousands of years among groups all around the globe. A more comprehensive review of ACM can be found here: http://humerusrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/01/fitting-in-brief-review-of-artificial.html
I am not familiar enough with the Star Child situation to fully comment, but based on what information you provided I can assume that there are a few factors at play in regards to the "unknown DNA": the methods that were used to analyze that DNA were not up to par (as paleogenetic methods have vastly changed in the past decade), there were errors in the lab (which even in the most careful of situations does and has happened), or the DNA is so badly degraded that unknown factors are not unexpected. As for citing Kurt Vonnegut's book "Chariots of the Gods" do note that this is a work of fiction and while Vonnegut did pursue a PhD in Anthropology (that he never completed) the information that he cited in that book may have been based on the creation mythos of the various groups he studied through his anthropological studies. As noted in class there is a distinctive difference between faith and science. Both are valid types of knowledge but neither can be used to adequately and sufficiently demonstrate support for the other.
Part 2:
As for the Nasca lines I know many people who have dedicated their studies to their study and the meaning of those lines, and none of them have found any reputable evidence to support the "alien myths", hence why it is debunked herein. As for equating gods to aliens, perhaps, but I do not know many people of faith who would feel comfortable with that link.
As for what people in the past knew as compared to what we know scientifically today it has been demonstrated time and time again through archaeological studies that the people of the past were not "dumb" or lacking of intelligence. They were actually very knowledgeable about the natural world around them, and their knowledge was similar but explained in different ways as compared to our Western understandings of science. Case in point, many Native American groups recognized that chewing willow bark alleviated headaches, and several decades later chemists recognized that it was a specific chemical compound in the willow bark that did it. Just because Native Americans didn't recognize the specific chemical composition of the willow bark as being the source of the pain relief does not mean that they lacked intelligence. It just means that they either didn't have the means or didn't have the desire to learn that information. This same line of investigation of utilizing Indigenous knowledge to discover natural remedies and medicines continues to occur in the field of chemistry, even at UNR. Think of all the things you take for granted but understand that they work without knowing specifically how. You turn on a light in your house and know that electricity powers that light, but do you know the specific mechanisms that form that electricity, how it is sent to you house, etc? Most do not but that does not mean that they are less intelligent.
Vinger, the analysis of Ata was one completed through X-ray and CT Analyses, which allow investigators to get under the skin (in a figurative sense) of the mummy without actually removing it. Dental examinations support the age of 6-8 years of age, and dental aging methods are pretty accurate and the preferred means of aging juveniles. Ata is believed to have been afflicted with one or more genetic disorders that rendered her small size. Other environmental factors (such as arsenic in the water, poor nutrition, etc.) may have exasperated her condition, making it worse, which would explain her premature death at such a young age.
I know some of the people involved in the analysis of Ata, and I know that their analysis was thorough and well done. These are not the types of people to jump to conclusions without rigorous scientific testing.
I have always been fascinated by the Nasca Lines. I never thought that they were there due to aliens (though part of me secretly wishes that they were) but, I have been very curious as to why they were made. The hypotheses that exist do make a lot of sense, especially the ones that say that they could have been used to designate trade routes.This was a very fun post to read :)
Sarah Howard ANTH 102-1002
Scientics have always said thtat there are no such things as aliens but no matter what we humans always tend to find unexplainable objects in the air. We have some many dacts and data and even foils that were afraid of them but we still ant to know about them. It's funny how we want them to go away but at the same time we're fascinated by them. Like the amien mummy we have proof that it tends to be real but we done see it ofen that we are unaware of its intentions.Do we trust them or should we stay away from them?
Briana Banuelos Anth 102 1001
after taking math classes I am convinced that there are aliens... its more believable than a bunch of ancient greeks sitting in the dirt making this stuff up. And nasca lines, seriously a bunch of dudes sleeping in a tent on the floor making that, no way. Theres gotta be another smarter life form somewhere or time travelers. What do you think about the inner earth civilization theories?
I'm not sure who specifically you are questioning on trust, Briana, so I cannot adequately address that question. As well, keep in mind that Ata, the mummy, is human and was that of a young girl who was just very ill in her lifetime, hence why she didn't live very long. An unfortunate story.
Jo, why do you believe it is impossible that the ancient Greeks were able to come up with the foundations of math? Human beings and our large and complex brains have been able to do a great many things in our existence. Our hominid ancestors who were developing that large brain were able to survive in inhospitable and every changing environments because of that brain, and they went on to form some very complex stone tool technologies that we, as modern humans, have had a great deal in copying. Also, the ancient Greeks had a large population that was divided into the upper and lower classes. The lower classes did not have the luxury of free thought and imagination that the upper classes did, so it should be of no surprise that they came up with something. We see similar intelligent discoveries among other ancient peoples: the ancient Maya and Egyptians had complex religious ideologies based on the travels of the celestial bodies (stars, moon, and sun). They recognized when it was best to plant and harvest in part because of that knowledge. Ancient Romans had full scale plumbing. And the Nasca lines are no more impossible than the Egyptian pyramids or Maya temples, all of which were created with a lot of effort on the part of humans. One should never discount what humans can do when they put their minds to it.
As for inner earth civilizations, I really do not believe they exist because there is no reputable, valid scientific proof that exists to demonstrate to me enough support that they do exist. The scientific method is a rigorous means of testing hypotheses, and the "evidence" of inner earth civilizations just doesn't stand up to those standards.
Thanks for the explanation. I guess I wasn't questioning the science or the scientists as much as I was finding Ata so extraordinary and maybe (nearly) unbelievable regarding her size/age ratio. Why haven't we found more examples? I guess regardless of our great technology and vast knowledge about this world, we have so much more yet to discover. Maybe this sounds a bit gruesome, but I hope we find more examples of remains such as Ata, it would be very interesting to hear about!
Think about the proportion of genetic abnormalities that we see in modern populations with modern science and medicine that allows them to live a little better. The proportion is pretty small. In the past with smaller populations the proportions were most likely even smaller, making those individuals rare, assuming they lived long enough to have remains preserve in the archaeological record. We know among ancient Greek and Roman populations that many children who were deemed undesirable were immediately killed after birth. This information was chronicled in many Greek & Roman scholar texts and recently verified on an island where thousands of remains have been found. The Greek and Roman populations were larger and far more recent than the ancient Chilean populations to which Ata was found. So the likelihood is pretty darn small due to the likelihood of the individuals existing in the population, the chances of those remains surviving in the archaeological record, and the possibility of them living for very long-be it from natural and unnatural factors that end their lives.
It was very interesting that people around the world would actually redesign skulls to make them look like alien skulls. I don't necessarily believe in aliens but when I read the article speaking about the alien mummy it made question my belief however biological scholars said it might have been an aborted child.
- Franqui Butler
Actually, Franqui, the purpose of ACM and reshaping the skull was not to make the skull look more alien like but to produce a shape that met a social need-be it beautification, social status, ethnicity, etc. A full review of the practice can be found here: http://humerusrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/01/fitting-in-brief-review-of-artificial.html . We, as modern people with our own cultural lenses, see what we want to see and impress upon this practice the idea that it resembles that of aliens. There is no evidence that I am aware of that supports the idea that past populations conducted ACM as a means of mimicking aliens.
As for Ata, she is a 6-8 year old who suffered from either one or several maladies, hence her small size and premature death. She is not, as you suspect, an aborted fetus, although that was an original and potential hypothesis at the beginning of the investigation, I'm sure.
I was curious as to how ACM was preformed? How do you reshape your skull? This is a topic of great debate. Many believe that there has to be other life forms in such a large universe that has yet to be discovered fully. I personally would like to think that there are intelligent life forms from a far away galaxy. Is there? I sure don't know and I am not ready to find out first hand. It is interesting how a read can sway a decision one way or another....myself included.
-Maria Whack TTH 11:30 am
You can learn more about ACM here: http://humerusrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/01/fitting-in-brief-review-of-artificial.html
This article got me a little curious in the world that we live in and that way no one will really know what is out there and who. I wanted information on a scientist point of view.
Briana Banuelos anth 102 1001
I've watched Ancient Aliens a few times and I'm often struck by the wide-eyed enthusiasm that the presenters have for large rocks standing upright. I understand for a few google searches and some interesting PBS Nova documentaries that lifting those large stones, even without tools is more a matter of balance, planning and physics. That said how are some of these complex large stones cut, or matched so well. Specifically I'm curious about the carving at Puma Punku's sharp, right angles and the like.
As with the the moai on Easter Island I suspect that the truth of things involves creative solutions and a great deal of patience and devotion to the task. Along those lines and in line with our first assignment is this underestimating ancient peoples a form of ethnocentrism or is this just "science" with an eye for the dramatic.
Andrew Simons Anth 1005
It's also important to note that "no tools" doesn't necessarily mean no tools. Organic remains (e.g. bone, wood, cloth, etc.) don't often survive well in the archaeological record, so what doesn't appear to be present doesn't mean it didn't exist.
Even though these may be debunked. I still believe there is intelligent life out there and they may have visited us. To say that we are the only intelligent forms to have language, or can build things to go into space, is an illogical thought. Earth is billions of years old, so how old are other planets out there in the universe? -monoxxde spring 2015-
I believe the ages of all the planets in the universe vary, much like the stars. Our sun is a pretty young star if that provides any insights.
This is some interesting stuff. I always wondered about the "sky scuplutres", I never really thought about them being trade markers, but I thought that perhaps there were large hills or mountains around the area. Just with concerns to their construction alone. There is a modern artist who does several works stepping in snow, and did some leaf arrangements. However, he uses a plane to look at the area.
The other 2 points of curiosity that I have in this regard would be about the stone henges, and the pyramids around the world that all basically look the same.
--MB(Anth 102)
You assume that the Nasca lines were the work of one, not many artists, which could very well have been the case. The area where these lines are found are in the Atacama Desert, which was and continues to be the world's driest desert. This area allows for agricultural exploits, but a very narrow area is able to be farmed, meaning that there are a lot of people who have some time on their hands. As for Stonehenge and the pyramids archaeologists have actually cracked those mysteries as to how they were constructed. We're still just trying to figure out the why in some cases.
I find all of these to be very interesting. The practice of ACM seems dangerous and ill-advised. Who participated and allowed their children to participate in these rituals? Were there certain children who were chosen? Did any children die as a result of this practice, and was development stunted? These are the questions that come to my mind when I read this. As much as Ata has been studied and how you have explained it, I still find it difficult to believe that the mummy is that of a 6-8 year old child. I don't understand how someone with those deformations, could have managed to live to that age without the technological advancements we have today. When I look at pictures of the Nasca lines, I wonder how these images are produced without extreme distortion without being able to look at it, and assess the progress, from above.
-Courteney Hedicke, Anth101
I actually studied artificial cranial modification for my doctoral research, so I can actually answer all of your questions on that topic: It was practiced cross-culturally around the globe and several different types of societies practiced cranial modification. It is seen in hunter-gatherer groups and state level societies. The motivations were numerous, including making one more beautiful, identifying group membership, social status, etc. The motivations for the practice determined who had their cranium modified, so if it was to demonstrate free vs enslaved individuals those who met the requirement had their skull modified. As for detrimental effects to health, I studied that in depth for my doctoral research and found that it more often than not did not harm the individual. The reason for this is because the skull is very plastic/malleable, and it has to be in order for us, as human beings, to survive. We are not biologically adapted to survive, save for our large brains that enable us to develop cultural adaptations that enable us to better survive in otherwise hostile environments. We aren't very hairy, large, strong, etc. so we need to develop cultural innovations, like weapons, fire, housing, to protect ourselves from natural elements-be they predators or weather. Our skull bones are thin, making it very easy to damage our brains, so our brains and skulls must be plastic/malleable in order to allow us to take a hit and still function. Think of how many times you accidentally hit your head on something. If every single time that happened we got a concussion or lost consciousness we, as a species, wouldn't survive very long. So a biological adaptation within humans (as a species) is to have a plastic/malleable skull, which is how cranial modification could occur with little to no negative effects to brain function or overall health.
A review of artificial cranial modification can be found here: http://humerusrevelations.blogspot.com/2014/01/fitting-in-brief-review-of-artificial.html
As for Ata her survival is most likely due to intervention of others. She did, most likely, exist in a group setting, and others probably helped her survive. Again, think about how we, as a modern human society(ies), help those who otherwise wouldn't survive. Same idea applies to the past. We have evidence that demonstrates altruistic (helpful) behavioral patterns existing throughout human history.
As for the Nasca lines we know that many past societies had a good handle on many modern scientific ideas, although they didn't call them the same things that we do today. Ancient Chileans and Andean populations had a good deal of knowledge on human anatomy. Egyptians built the pyramids. Who are we to say that the Nasca people didn't have really good math skills and were able to superimpose a small image into a larger one based on mathematical equations? I know that there are a lot of hypotheses out there to explain how the Nasca lines were created, but as I'm not an archaeologist and I am not a scholar of Nasca culture I cannot comment further.
Anthropology 102:1002
This was an interesting read because it cleared up some of the misconception of aliens I have heard throughout my life. I have never taken the time to give "whether there is more life out there" much thought. I figures it doesn't really concern me, so who cares?
I find all of these very interesting and the intrduction paragraph very true. Many movies mostly cartoon movies have alien related characters. a recent one I have just seen is "Home". The alien in this movie looks very much like the second alien on Myth 1. Most movies have aliens that look some what like this myth images you provided for us above.
Yajaira Medina
Anth 101 Tu, Thur
Myth 2
Before reading this article I didn't know anything about the Nasca Lines. It's interesting that Von Daniken thought that the Nasca people were trying to communicate with Extra-terrestrials. I wonder if the nescla lines had any influence with some of the popular shows aand movies about aliens.
Terrance W. Anth 101
May very well have. I'm not aware of any specific examples, but that doesn't mean that sort of influence hasn't existed.
May very well have. I'm not aware of any specific examples, but that doesn't mean that sort of influence hasn't existed.
Myth # 1 was very interesting on how many cultures would practice artificial cranial modification. Reading this blog made me think that alien do not exist and there are a always a logical explanation on any E.T. or extraordinary artifacts around the world. The ata really caught my eye. I actually believed at first by just looking at the picture that it was an actual baby alien. I wander how the baby had ended up having that specific head shape with what looks like the a sagittal crest .
Is it possible that alien myth 3 was a premature baby that was well care for and survived that many years, but did not grow as much because she did not have enough time to develop inside the fetus so she remained that size due to the lack of nutrients that is normally given to babies in a fetus? - Maya Quezada, ANTH 102,1002
Ata has been thoroughly analyzed and she is, in deed, a 6 to 8 year old child. We're not quite sure what genetic abnormality she may have had that caused her diminutive size, but we do know that she had something wrong with her that caused her small size. She is not, however, a premature fetus.
I find myth 1 to be highly dangerous to brain development as it alters the size and positioning of the brain. the nerve endings would be horribly mutated to fit the skull and I feel as thought the individual would have severe mental difficulties. Myth2 I don't have much trouble believing because there are paintings of non-human species painting on the rocks near my hometown of Hedley, BC, Canada. They are big and clearly not human with huge heads and tiny stick bodies. They are all in close proximity to each other as well. Myth 3 is beyond my guess. I am going to go with the research of anthologists and trust that this is a severely mutated 6-8 year old child, although I highly disagree.
Interesting myths, thank you
Zachary Forrester
anthro 101 3001 summer
Actually, as noted in previous comments, there are several decades (and I dare so close to a century) worth of study on the topic of the pathological consequences of ACM, particularly to the brain, and study after study has demonstrated that no such detrimental effects were present. Minor things, such as headaches, but individuals with ACM are typically fine. If they have another pathological condition, however, that may cause detrimental effects, but that's related to the condition, not ACM. As for Myth 3, I know many of the scholars who worked on that mummy, and I can confidently say that they're very well versed and trained in physical anthropological methods. We have incidences of extreme birth defects today and throughout history, so why is it difficult to believe such birth defects did not occur in the past? We typically do not have them documented because they're rare, past populations (much like today) do not like to discuss them, and preservation of past remains (be it material culture or human remains) is not the best so it's difficult to find evidence due to time and erosive factors destroying the evidence.
I'm not one to believe in the myth of aliens among us. When I heard about Ata, before DNA testing was done, I was fascinated. What could make such a developed mummy? Now, knowing Ata was a child, is astounding. Were there others with this malformation?
It is actually not that common of a malformation, and scholars have not pinpointed which specific malformation it may be. It could be a type of specific type of dwarfism (see Jyoti Amge who starred in American Horror Story: Freakshow) that coupled with extreme nutrition deficiencies, which were very commonplace in the past, led to Ata's diminutive size. At present, though, we are not completely sure as conducting DNA analyses are destructive, and we (scholars) try to avoid those types of analyses at all costs, particularly for such a case.
When i first saw links on the internet for ATA i thought it was a ad scheme. Now it has me intrigued that skeleton they found was so incredibly small. Essentially the are saying a mini person was able to survive up until age eight?
Jordan R
Jyoti Amge who starred in American Horror Story: Freakshow is a little person/dwarf who has lived well into her 20s, so yes, it is completely possible that an 8 year old with a similar condition could and did live for a period of time.
Hands down one of the top articles here! A fun read and a great article! I can totally see Giorgio A. Tsoukalos scouring in total disbelief.
Myth #3 is probably my favorite. Though it's hard for many people to believe in such an anomaly, I do support the theory of this young girl living to 8 with such a serious disease. I believe people even 100 years ago were much smaller than we are today. For instance, looking at the door frames on houses in Virginia City tells me the people who originally lived there were shorter.
This was an fun blog to read. I'm one of those people who believes in disbelief but then sometimes tell myself they are real. After seeing the movie Signs I have sort of been terrified of aliens. Myth 3, has to be my favorite, I personally wouldn't have guessed it to be human for it to be 6inches. I don't know what I would of thought it was.
Aaliyah Caldwell
I've heard rumors about people finding skeletons that seem too small and deformed to be human. My mind always comes to the conclusion that, like Ata, they are children who had bad deformities and didn't live to adulthood. I don't think that many tend to remember this, but there was a time when families refused to acknowledge a deformed child and therefore would not give him or her a proper burial.
Tjis is an amazing blog post, the rjumors and myths about aliens is very intersting. It makes you see things in a different way.
I think the religious factors have a lot to do with things like this. I think it is very interesting the way some people believe in Aliens and think they live on different parts of the world
I never knew that about Ata I thought it was just a set up for others to believe it was an alien, but wow that's astonishing that it is actually a child from the past. Im sure I am not the only one who thought so.
This was interesting because since a kid i always thought aliens were real. So since this post has been published,were there anymore clues on cross-cultural practice of ACM? in other words why did they do it?
-Jasmine Busby
Jasmine, there is quite a bit of research available about artificial cranial modifications. The motivations are vast and varied, meeting the needs of each cultural group. I believe there's at least one additional blog post on the topic. I encourage you to look further into it here if you wish to learn more. :)
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