Elongated Skulls

[Doganharp]

I saw a video on myspace about these skulls they found in Russia that had presumably been elongated purposely in a previous culture. That's not so terribly hard to swallow, but then the video says this:

"These people were some sort of living instrument who were able, for instance to determine whether or not there was danger, as well as to predict the weather."

Could these paleontologists possibly be able to read that much into this from the evidence on hand? Are those feats they mentioned even POSSIBLE? Extraordinary claims...:boggled:

[Doganharp]

I'd like to add a link but the forum won't allow me to. Just google "Strange Elongated Skulls Discovered"

[Professor Yaffle]

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/4565758/12224414

[Ashles]

Could these paleontologists possibly be able to read that much into this from the evidence on hand? Are those feats they mentioned even POSSIBLE?
No and no.

[Professor Yaffle]

It's hardly news to find such skulls in russia - here's something from 2005:

http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/377/16262_skulls.html

The alien/ufo woos love these skulls apparently.

[volatile]

http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Cranial_Binding

"When an individual is young (a baby), the skull is quite malleable. By restricting the growth of the skull and by putting selective pressure on it by binding it or strapping it against boards, its shape can be permanently altered. This is believed to be one of the first body modifications practised by humans, and can still be observed in parts of Africa and South America (most commonly Peru)."

As for the other claims -- this is probably documentation of the kind of thing that has entered legend / myth / folklore rather than any kind of empirical observation based on the bones or what have you. As I understand it, the dominant theory as to the origin of this practice is that it was simply aesthetically-motivated.

ETA: http://fetalneonatal.com/cgi/content/extract/86/3/144