The effects were published in the high-impact journal PLOS One.
Using clinical computed tomography (CT) and high-resolution micro-CT, the researchers were able to determine that the tsantsa found lately in the collection of the Chatham-Kent Museum in Chatham, Ontario, are truly genuine human remains and not a fake. made from parts of animal frames or other opportunities used in ad reproductions.
This is the first step to discover the authenticity of this theme.
CT scans produce two-dimensional photographs of a “slice” of a frame or part of the frame, which are then collected and overlaid to create three-dimensional photographs.
“This strategy redefines archaeology because, historically, archaeology can be aggressively destructive,” said Lauren September Poeta, an Anishinaabe researcher and assignment associate in Western’s Office of Indigenous Initiatives. box making it much less invasive. “
This new digitization technique is a first step in authenticating tsantsas as the global network shifts its mindset toward indigenous-led repatriation of human remains, art, and archaeological artifacts that are lately in public and personal collections around the world.
The tsantsa analyzed for examination was donated to the museum in the 1940s by the Sulman family, after it was purchased on an excursion to the Amazon basin. more, which is not unusual.
Tsantsas have already been identified as a rich representation of data on history, culture, rituals and identity. Now that this tsantsa has been verified, researchers from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador (academic partners of the study) will paint paintings with representatives of the Shuar and Achuar peoples of Ecuador and northern Peru towards the next steps.
“For this study, authentication was at the center of attention. We want to better understand the total process of building tsantsa because ethnohistorical resources vary greatly,” said Andrew Nelson, chair of Western’s anthropology department.
Many ethnohistorical resources recommend that tsantsas were created to trap the soul inside the remains while sewing the eyes and mouth. By shrinking the head of a fallen enemy, the victor intended to exploit his brain for servitude and save the soul from revenge. the death of the enemy.
“The tsantsas are a very clever representation of indigenous history in South America, but also the advertising legacy of the reduced heads highlights paintings of colonial networks around the world,” Poeta said. Shuar and Achuar others are helping us to walk towards decolonization. “
Although Poeta, Nelson and their collaborators received conclusive evidence that tsantsa is a human remnant, they could not determine whether the goal of the head relief was ceremonial or commercial.
Poeta noted that the team knew they were, in fact, reading human remains by examining the high-resolution micro-TCs of the eyes and ears. For Nelson, it was hair.
“You can see the individual layers of skin in the clinical scanner, but in the micro-CT you can see the individual follicles and it becomes literally transparent what’s going on,” Nelson said.
The seam used to close the incisions, as well as the eyes and lips, can also undergo critical tests with a micro CT scan.
“If vine fabrics were used to seal the eyes and lips, you would most likely identify the tsantsa as ceremonial, but if a more modern and less expensive thread were used, it is more indicative of advertising interests in doing so,” Poeta said.
Researchers will not know for sure the main points and ultimate goal of the reduced head structure until other tsantsas, those that are guaranteed as ceremonial and those expected as fakes, are examined.
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