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A human skull dating back to 9,000 years ago (Neolithic period) was found in the archeological site of Abdol-Hosseini hill in Delfan Country, Public Relations of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department of Lorestan province announced.
Characteristics identified in the pelvis and the skull show that the skeleton belongs to a woman in 30s to 40s. The height of the skeleton is estimated to be between 157 to 165 centimeters based on the femur measurement.
The most significant characteristic of the skeleton is seen in the skull which is supposed to be deformed by fastening a bandage around it in infancy. This has caused the frontal and occipital parts to become abnormally narrow.
The temporal and parietal bones have been depressed and deepened and there is a projection in the frontal part of the skull as a result of the bandage.
The practice of deforming the skull has also been seen in other Neolithic sites in Ganj Hill in Kermanshah and Alikosh in Ilam in the same period.
Study shows that deformation of the skull was practiced in ancient times with social, ritual and aesthetic purposes to make distinction among different sexes or groups of people.
Isotope testing on the teeth of skeletons found in Abdol-Hosseini Hill shows that people’s diet in that age was full of cereal.
Abdol-Hosseini Hill is the seat of a primitive village dating back to Neolithic period – late Ninth millennium to mid-seventh millennium BC. Exploration of the site began in 1979 and there has been found antiquities from both Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic periods.
The skeleton has been moved to National Museum of Iran.
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