An ancient burial site in Mexico, discovered in 1999 but only recently investigated, has revealed skeletal remains with odd, "alien-shaped" skulls. They were unearthed in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora at a site known as "El Cementerio" when workers stumbled upon the remains accidentally while digging to install an irrigation system. According to Time, the bones date to between A.D. 940 and 1308, making them around 1,000 years old.
The skulls appear to have been intentionally deformed until they resembled something akin to the "Coneheads," the fictional alien family made famous on "Saturday Night Live" in the late 1970s. Ryan Matthew, a host on the Science Channel, explained that the process of cranial deformation usually began in childhood.
"When you were a newborn baby, you would be cradle-boarded," Matthew said. "They would put two boards around the head and wrap it very securely. Because the head of a child is very soft, it can be manipulated forward, but the process would take several months."
The skulls appear to have been intentionally deformed until they resembled something akin to the "Coneheads," the fictional alien family made famous on "Saturday Night Live" in the late 1970s. Ryan Matthew, a host on the Science Channel, explained that the process of cranial deformation usually began in childhood.
"When you were a newborn baby, you would be cradle-boarded," Matthew said. "They would put two boards around the head and wrap it very securely. Because the head of a child is very soft, it can be manipulated forward, but the process would take several months."