VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

The Houston Museum of Natural Science presents a special lecture entitled Smaller than Life: The Lure and Lore of Amazonian Shrunken Heads.

John Verano, Ph.D., (pictured) Tulane University
Monday, December 14, 6:30 p.m.

In 1862, a shrunken head from the Amazon rainforest was presented to western scientists for the first time at a meeting of the Anthropological Society of Paris. Not surprisingly, as nothing like this was known in Europe, the head generated great interest. Museum researchers and explorers promptly set out in search of examples for their own collections. As genuine shrunken heads (tsantsas) made by the Jívaro Indians of Peru and Ecuador were relatively rare, enterprising artifact traders in South and Central America began making replicas to satisfy the growing demand. Some were actual human heads that had been stolen and clandestinely prepared; others were made from monkey heads or animal skin.

The full variety of these genuine and falsified heads can be found in museum collections today. They document not only traditional head shrinking, but also creative attempts to falsify “the real thing.” John Verano, an anthropologist who has examined shrunken heads at various museums, will present an overview of this fascinating subject.