It appears, the more tsantsas or shrunken heads are studied, the more questions are raised and the more tsantsas have come to light.
Ecuadorian delegates explained there were lots of different ways of making tsantsas, as well as different reasons for making them.
The principal reason was ceremonial, another involved commercial trading – one gun in exchange for one head!
But while many were sold to western collectors, not all of them were human.
In the Pitt Rivers collection, for instance, tomography has revealed that two of the heads in Oxford are monkeys and two are sloths. Only six are human.
The delegation confirmed the majority of remains have been well looked after while in UK collections.
They also confirmed at present there’s no agenda in Ecuador to recover their nation’s cultural heritage (“we are not here to take away everything”).
But they are seeking greater collaboration and an agreement with museum directors over how we are looking after their ancestors.
