Nefertiti is one of the more interesting figures in Egyptian history. She may be the second most popular woman in Egyptian history, second only to Cleopatra. The image people most often associate with Nefertiti is probably this bust, now housed in the Neues Museum in Berlin, Germany.
What not many people know is that there is one trait of Nefertiti that is rather unusual. In many Egyptian artifacts, she is often, if not always, portrayed with an elongated head. Many times, she is wearing a headgear that could potentially cover her elongated head.
From her most famous bust, you can see the big headgear that can cover an elongated head. You can also see it in the sculpture below.
In the next artwork, you can see Nefertiti (again with the elongated headgear) with her pharaoh husband, Akhenaten, who is another interesting figure in Egyptian history and is also often portrayed with an elongated head. This engraving is interesting because it also show three of their daughters, all with elongated heads as well.
You might think maybe the Egyptians would portray every body with elongated heads. There are many artworks that show ancient Egyptians with “normal” heads. There are also artworks that show both elongated heads and “normal” heads, like this one showing Nefertiti with her elongated head on the right, with a guy with a normal head on the left.
So did Nefertiti really have an elongated head?
We currently do not know, because we still have not found her remains, nor her parents’, nor her daughters’. That’s what makes her, and her elongated head, very mysterious. We are not even sure if there were actually beings who lived on this earth with these elongated heads.
Or are we?
Elongated heads of Peru
In a small museum in Peru (Paracas History Museum), there are around 300 skulls on display. Many of which do not exactly look similar to ours.
- Paracas elongated skulls
Brian Foerster has posted many videos on YouTube describing these skulls, and was also instrumental in having them tested. Initial DNA analysis have even proven they are not homo sapiens. It would be interesting to see what else they can find out in further tests.
Maybe one day, our species will learn to accept that there was once a humanoid species, with brains much bigger than ours, and who may have even played a part in our very own history.
One day.
Filipino in Tokyo 