Pre-Pottery Neolithic skull removal: consciousness in head concept. Oldest intentional mortuary practices date to pre-pottery Neolithic, 10,000-7,000 BC Practices involved decapitation and skull removal across Levant and Anatolia Human skulls were detached, plastered over, and displayed in homes or buried separately
Pre-Pottery Neolithic people (10,000-7,000 BC) removed skulls, plastered them, and displayed them in homes. Archaeological evidence shows they detached human skulls from bodies, plastered and modeled facial features, then either displayed them or buried them in caches. The plastered skulls often featured emphasized eyes and mouths, suggesting symbolic importance of facial features. However, the claim that these practices demonstrate ancient people understood consciousness lived in the head based on observed wound survivability is an interpretive inference not supported by archaeological evidence. The extent of these practices in Anatolia also remains less documented than in the Levant.
Key Facts
- Oldest intentional mortuary practices date to pre-pottery Neolithic, 10,000-7,000 BC
- Practices involved decapitation and skull removal across Levant and Anatolia
- Human skulls were detached, plastered over, and displayed in homes or buried separately
- Ancient people correlated head wounds with instant death vs. heart wounds survivable
- They specifically associated eyes and mouth with identity and consciousness
- This represents understanding that consciousness resided in the head, not the heart
Related site: Çatalhöyük — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.
Source: Vultures were the first "angels" (a 12k year old story) by Timeless with Fred Snyder