Ohio Hopewell skulls pose a mystery

[theHandpuppet]

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/science/2014/03/02/hopewell-skulls-pose-a-mystery.html

The Columbus Dispatch
Archaeology | Hopewell skulls pose a mystery
Sunday March 2, 2014 10:14 AM

Archaeologists excavating Ohio Hopewell mounds occasionally come across the remains of people who had been buried with separate human skulls. Hopewell artisans also sculpted representations of decapitated heads and headless human torsos.

Does this mean Ohio’s ancient American Indians were headhunters?

Mark Seeman, professor emeritus at Kent State University, says that these decapitated heads were battle trophies. But Timothy Lloyd, an archaeologist at the University of Albany, points out that some of the bodies and skulls belonged to women, who seldom were warriors in indigenous societies.

Lloyd also points out that none of the skulls shows signs of violent trauma, only some cut marks.... MORE