The Jivaro shrunken heads from the National Museum , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Authentic or Counterfeits?

Abstract

The Jivaro people from Ecuador, Amazonia, skillfully mummified human heads by shrinking them to the size of a fist. The Jivaro became famous as the Amazonian headhunters. This mummification was practiced in the context of a ritual in which individuals developed more and more spiritual power supported by the submission of their enemy souls. In the original ritual the heads were discarded or “buried” in the rivers. Historical contacts and religious conversion prohibited the practice and only a few shrunken heads can be found in museums today. Six Jivaro shrunken heads, probably from adult men with ornaments including a Caucasian, are described in this presentation. Some of them date to the 19th century, and were acquired by the Brazilian emperor. The discovery of nits and eggs of Pediculus humanus in those mummified scalps makes their description still more interesting. Cultural details like feather ornaments, hair styles, cordage, and other characteristics are discussed