Plastered human skulls are human skulls covered with layers of plaster and often found in the ancient Levant, especially near the city of Jericho, between 8,000 and 6,000 BC (about 9,000 years ago), during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period. These skulls are among the oldest forms of art in the Middle East and show that early people carefully buried their ancestors under their homes. These skulls are some of the earliest examples of sculptural portraiture in art history.

The process usually involved removing the jawbone. Signs of wear show they were handled over time. These skulls were often found buried with other human remains, and each group shows a similar style. The skulls usually have a backward tilt. There is no clear pattern in the age or gender of the people whose skulls were plastered.

Discovery

In the 1930s, an archaeologist named John Garstang accidentally found one skull at Jericho in Mandatory Palestine. Later, in the 1950s, a British archaeologist named Kathleen Kenyon discovered several plastered skulls at Jericho. These skulls are now displayed in the collections of the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Chau Chak Wing Museum in Sydney, and the Jordan Archaeological Museum.

Plastered skulls have also been found at other locations, such as Ain Ghazal near Amman, Jordan, and Tell Ramad in Syria. Most of the plastered skulls belonged to adult males, though some were from women and children.

Archaeological significance

The plastered skulls show some of the first ways people buried their dead in the southern Levant. During the Neolithic period, people often placed the bodies of the deceased under the floors of their homes. This means a plaster skull was sometimes placed under a plaster floor. At times, the skull was taken out, and its empty spaces were filled with plaster and painted. To make the faces look more real, shells were added for eyes, and paint was used to show facial features, hair, and mustaches.

Some experts think this burial method was a way to honor ancestors, using the skulls to remember and respect family members from the past. Other experts suggest the skulls might have been used as trophies after battles, though there is not much evidence to support this idea. These plastered skulls help scientists learn about the earliest art and religious practices in the ancient Near East.

Quality

Schmandt-Besserat praised the skill shown in one example when reviewing literature and specimens.

Skull 88-1, a 9000-year-old plastered skull, shows a very high level of skill in creating the human face. It demonstrates the work of someone who fully understood how to use plaster, captured the face's structure, and skillfully shaped the details. The eyebrows and the soft, dreamy look in the eyes are especially impressive.

The author lists several places where discoveries were made, including Jericho, Beisamoun, Kfar HaHoresh, and Yiftahel. Other locations include Tell Ramad and Tell Awad in Syria, and Kösk Höyük in Turkey.

Texts

An ancient written record from the Tale of Aqhat describes this idea. "A mortal ultimately receives glaze poured on his head and lime placed on top of his skull."

External

The "oldest portrait in the museum": A skull from Jericho with shell eyes. https://www.ashmolean.org/jericho-skull