Abstract
The making of ritual shrunken heads, or tsantsas, was a common practice among the Jivaro-Shuar tribes of Ecuador and Peru during the post-Columbian period. The raising interest in the tsantsas in the late nineteenth through the twentieth century caused an increase in manufacturing of forged shrunken heads for profit. In the current study, we examined the authenticity and possible cultural provenance of the shrunken head displayed at the “Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv” using macro- and microscopic criteria together with DNA analyses. DNA analyses have revealed that the shrunken head represents a human male individual with a genetic profile compatible with an African ancestry and resembling that of modern South American populations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- mtDNA:
-
Mitochondrial DNA
- HVR-1:
-
Hypervariable region 1
- nDNA:
-
Nuclear DNA
- PCR:
-
Polymerase chain reaction
- STR:
-
Short tandem repeat
References
Alves-Silva J, da Silva SM, Guimarães PEM, Ferreira ACS, Bandelt H-J, Pena SDJ, Prado VF (2000) The ancestry of Brazilian mtDNA lineages. Am J Hum Genet 67:444–461
Anderson S, Bankier AT, Barrell BG, de Bruijn MH, Coulson AR, Drouin J, Eperon IC, Nierlich DP, Roe BA, Sanger F, Schreier PH, Smith AJ, Staden R, Young IG (1981) Sequence and organisation of the human mitochondrial genome. Nature 290:457–465
Berniell-Lee G, Calafell F, Bosch E, Heyer E, Silca L, Monguiama-Daouda P, van derVee L, Hombert JM, Quintana-Murci L, Comas D (2009) Genetic and demographic implications of the Bantu expansion: insights from human paternal lineages. Mol Biol Evol 26(7):1581–1589
Boom R, Sol CJA, Salimans MMM, Jansen CL, Wertheim-van Dillen PME, van der Noordaa J (1990) Rapid and simple method for purification of nucleic acids. J Clin Microevol 28:495–503
Bortolini MC, Wilson A, Da Silva JR, Zago MA, Elion J, Krishnamoorthy R, Gonçalves VF, Pena SDJ (2004) The phylogeography of mitochondrial DNA haplogroup L3g in Africa and the Atlantic slave trade. Am J Hum Genet 75:523–524
Curtin PD (1969) The Atlantic slave trade. University of Wisconsin Press, A census. Medison
Deedrick DW, Koch SL (2004) Microscopy of hair Part 1: a practical guide and manual for human hair. Forensic Sci Commun 6:1
Faerman M, Nebel A, Filon D, Thomas MG, Bradman N, Ragsdale BD, Schultz M, Oppenheim A (2000) From a dry bone to a genetic portrait: a case study of sickle cell anemia. Am J Phys Anthropol 111:153–163
González-Andrade F, Roewer L, Willuweit S, Sánchez D, Martínez-Jarreta B (2009) Y-STR variation among ethnic groups from Ecuador: Mestizos, Kichwas, Afro-Ecuadorians and Waoranis. Forensic Sci Int Genet 3:e83–e91
Graham CH, Ferrier S, Huettman F, Moritz C, Peterson AT (2004) New developments in museum-based informatics and applications in biodiversity analysis. Trends Ecol Evol 19:497–503
Höss M, Pääbo S (1993) DNA extraction from Pleistocene bones by silica-based purification method. Nucleic Acids Res 21:3913–3914
Hünemeier T, Carvalho C, Marrero AR, Salzano FM, Pena SDJ, Bortolini MC (2007) Niger-Congo speaking populations and the formation of the Brazilian gene pool: mtDNA and Y-chromosome data. Am J Phys Anthropol 133:854–867
Jandial R, Hughes SA, Aryan HE, Lawrence MF, Levy M (2004) The science of shrinking human heads: tribal warfare and revenge among the South American Jivaro-Shuar. Neurosurgery 55:1215–1221
Mutter GL (1975) Jivaro tsantsas, authentic and forged: a study of two shrunken heads in the Mutter Museum. Trans Stud Coll Physicians Philadelphia 43:78–82
Pääbo S, Poinar H, Serre D, Jaenicke-Despres V, Hebler J, Rohand N, Kuch M, Krause J, Vigilant L, Hofreiter M (2004) Genetic analyses from ancient DNA. Annu Rev Genet 38:645–679
Pfeffer I (1975) Insuring museum exibitions. Hastings Law J 27:1123–1162
Phillips C, Fernandez-Formoso L, Garcia-Magariños M, Porras L, Tvedebrink T, Amigo J, Fondevila M, Gomez-Tato A, Alvarez-Dios J, Freire-Aradas A, Gomez-Carballa A, Mosquera-Miguel A, Carracedo Á, Lareu M-V (2010) Analysis of global variability in 15 established and 5 new European Standard Set (ESS) STRs using the CEPH human genome diversity panel. Forensic Sci Int Genet. doi:10.1016/j.fsigen.2010.02.003
Pyke GH, Ehrlich PR (2010) Biological collections and ecological/environmental research: a review, some observations and a look to the future. Biol Rev 85:247–266
Reichenpfader B, Buzina W, Rol P (2009) The mystery of shrinking heads. Forensic Sci Int Supplement Series 1:22–23
Rodrigues EM, de Palha TJ, dos Santos SE (2007) Allele frequencies data and statistic parameters for 13 STR loci in a population of the Brazilian Amazon region. Forensic Sci Int 168:244–247
Rubenstein SL (2004) Shuar migrants and shrunken heads face to face in a New York museum. Anthropol Today 20:15–18
Rubenstein SL (2007) Circulation, accumulation and the power of Shuar shrunken heads. Cult Anthropol 22:357–399
Salas A, Richards M, De la Fe T, Lareu M-V, Sobrino B, Sánchez-Diz P, Macaulay V, Carracedo Á (2002) The making of the African mtDNA landscape. Am J Hum Genet 71:1082–1111
Salas A, Richards M, Lareu M-V, Scozzari R, Coppa A, Torroni A, Macaulay V, Carracedo Á (2004a) The African Diaspora: mitochondrial DNA and the Atlantic slave trade. Am J Hum Genet 74:454–465
Salas A, Torroni A, Richards M, Quintana-Murci L, Hill C, Macaulay V, Carracedo Á (2004b) Reply to Bortolini et al. Am J Hum Genet 75:524–526
Sauvageau A, Kremer C, Brochu V, Julien F, Racette S (2009) Jivaro Tsantsas or shrunken head: an expertise of authenticity evaluation. Am J Forensic Med Pathol 30:72–74
Silva WA, Bortolini MC, Schneider MPC, Marrero A, Elion J, Krishnamoorthy R, Zago MA (2006) mtDNA haplogroup analysis of Black Brazilian and Sub-Saharan populations: implications for the Atlantic slave trade. Hum Biol 78:29–41
Willard JM, Lee DA, Holland MM (1998) Recovery of DNA for PCR amplification from blood and forensic samples using a chelating resin. Meth Mol Biol 98:9
Acknowledgment
We would like to thank Ms. Hagit Shorek from the “Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv” for giving us an opportunity to study the shrunken head museum item and Dr. I. Aizenberg from The Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, for providing the sloth hair samples.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hermon, D., Gafny, R., Zamir, A. et al. The genetic signature of a shrunken head. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 3, 223–228 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-011-0064-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-011-0064-1