Thursday 22 December 2011

E.T...phone home...

Just spotted this blog post about artificially deformed crania being misinterpreted as evidence of extra-terrestrial beings. I love the sheer ignorance of those alien-fanciers, and Daily Mail journalists! But also, I'm glad that this area of anthropology is beginning to get the attention it deserves. I've been working in this area for a while now, and am especially interested in the neurological effects of artificial or cultural cranial deformation. I presented on this topic at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in February this year, and I am currently preparing an article about it (with M. Richards), looking at how we can use ethnographic evidence and clinical observations in modern infants with craniosynostosis to draw conclusions about how it affects/ed the brain function of individuals with deformed crania.

2 comments:

  1. Hey! I'v been reading "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" by Mary Roach. And found it to be tremendously informative and humorous. Have you read it? I'm just a fan of Forensic anthropology through a fascination with the show "Bones and a passion for writing - and getting the facts straight. Just wanted to reach out and say I enjoy your blog.

    Thanks

    MoxieGirl44 on Twitter
    http://bit.ly/su66MR

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  2. Hi MoxieGirl44! Oh, yes, I have read that book - I LOVE it! I love the inventive use that cadavers have been put to in the name of research - I bet when the people agreed to donate their bodies to science they had little idea of all the possibilities and opportunities awaiting them! Fascinating.
    Thanks! Keep the interest up and keep in touch! Anna

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