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All Peru Lima The Room of 10,000 Ancient Skulls

The Room of 10,000 Ancient Skulls

Lima’s Museum of Anthropology is lined with thousands of elongated human craniums.

Lima, Peru

Added By
Lew Blank
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Row after row of skulls   Courtesy of Brien Foerster
Row after row of skulls   Courtesy of Brien Foerster
Paraca skulls on display at the Museum of Ica in Peru   Marcin Tlustochowicz / CC BY 2.0
Room of 10,000 Ancient Skulls   Courtesy of Brien Foerster
Skull on display at Lima’s Museum of Anthropology   Kathy / CC BY-SA 2.0
Rope being tied around child’s head to elongate the skull   Tropenmuseum / CC BY-SA 3.0
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About

Indigenous people have lived in Peru since as early as 12,000 B.C., leaving Peruvian archaeologists with thousands of years of prehistoric human skulls to examine. The Museum of Anthropology, Archaeology, and History in Lima, Peru, contains over 10,000 of these skulls, packed together tightly in the museum’s Human Remains Gallery.

The room is filled with so many skulls that it has been speculated to be the largest ancient skull collection in the world. The collection also includes hundreds of ancient ceramics and stone statues.

Perhaps the most interesting of the museum’s 10,000 skulls is the Paracas collection, known worldwide for their stretched, elongated shape. These strange skulls have foreheads that are massively taller than those of normal humans, which many archaeologists suspect is the result of rigidly tying cloth or two pieces of wood around the head to show elite status in society.

The debate over whether the skulls' elongated shapes stem from cultural, genetic, or perhaps alien origin makes the Paracas collection one of the museum’s main draws and its most highly disputed exhibit.

Related Tags

Skulls Skeletons Archaeology

Know Before You Go

The room of 10,000 ancient skulls is off limits to the public, and you'll have to settle for the 8 skulls they have on exhibit. However, the skulls they do have on exhibit, while few they may be, are a fascinating sight to behold.

The entire Anthropology wing of the museum is closed for repairs to the floor and roof. Estimated time of reopening is 3 to 4 years.

 

 

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Added By

lewblank

Edited By

Blindcolour, shirley3david

  • Blindcolour
  • shirley3david

Published

January 3, 2017

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Sources
  • https://hiddenincatours.com/the-room-of-10000-ancient-skulls-in-lima-peru/
  • http://www.limaeasy.com/culture-guide/museums-lima/national-museum-archaeology-anthropology-and-history
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_in_Peru#Origins
  • http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/breaking-new-dna-testing-2000-year-old-elongated-paracas-skulls-changes-020914
The Room of 10,000 Ancient Skulls
C. Pl. Bolívar
Pueblo Libre
Lima, 15084
Peru
-12.077223, -77.062152
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