It is an astonishing image that could have come straight from the plot of a Ridley Scott movie.
Archaeologists in Mexico today revealed the astonishing skull of a person suffering from a cranial disfiguration.
Believed to be 1,000 years old, the find was made near the small Mexican village of Onavas.
The find is believed to be the first in the region showing the practice of binding a skull to change its shape.
'Cranial deformation in Mesoamerican cultures was used to differentiate one social group from another and for ritual purposes,' said archaeologist Cristina Garcia Moreno, director of the research project.
The burial ground consists of 25 individuals; 13 have intentional cranial deformation and five also have dental mutilation.
'This unique find shows a mix of traditions from different groups of northern Mexico,' said Moreno.
The use of ornaments made from sea shells from the Gulf of California had never been found before in Sonoran territory and this discovery extends the limit of influence of Mesoamerican peoples farther north than has been previously recorded," she said in a video posted to YouTube. (Daily Mail)