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Stories
No. 012
What Does a Skull Mean in Heraldry? Blazons, Arms and Flags
A skull has no fixed meaning in heraldry. See how heralds blazon skulls and death's heads, and real arms and flags from Tlaxcala, Spain, Scotland and Canada.
No. 011
The Skull Chapel in Czermna, Poland
The Skull Chapel in Czermna, Poland holds about 3,000 skulls and bones. Learn who built it, why Father Tomaszek gathered the dead and how it compares with Sedlec.
No. 010
The Jericho Plastered Skulls
The Jericho plastered skulls are Neolithic skulls with plaster faces and shell eyes, found by Kathleen Kenyon in 1953. Who made them, how, when and why.
No. 009
What Does the Skull Mean in Buddhism? Skull Symbolism in Buddhist Art
In Buddhism the skull points to impermanence and letting go. Learn why Tibetan deities wear skull crowns, what a kapala skull cup is, and what Ikkyū's Skeletons means.
No. 008
Citipati
The Citipati are the dancing skeleton pair of Tibetan Buddhism, the Lords of the Charnel Ground. Learn who they are, how to spot them, cham dances and the dinosaur named for them.
No. 007
Ma'Nene
Ma'Nene' is the Toraja ritual of cleaning and re-dressing ancestors in South Sulawesi. Learn what families do, when it happens, what tau tau are and how to visit respectfully.
No. 006
Asmat Ancestor Skulls
Asmat ancestor skulls kept loved ones close in Papua, Indonesia. Learn why families kept them, how seeds, feathers and beeswax decorated them, and what bisj poles mean.
No. 005
Shrunken Heads
Shrunken heads, or tsantsa, were made by the Shuar and Achuar of Ecuador and Peru. Learn why, how they were made, how many are fake, and why museums are returning them.
No. 004
What Can a Skeleton Tell an Archaeologist About a Person?
How do archaeologists read age, sex, diet and where someone grew up from bones and teeth? What a skeleton can show, how sure they are, and where methods run out.