Yorkshire men in early medieval times were not were not so much big heads – as round heads – according to new research carried out by English Heritage.
The examination of nearly 700 skeletons recovered from the deserted village of Wharram Percy, near Malton, North Yorkshire, shows that the skull shapes of men between the 11th and 13th centuries became noticeably rounder.
The move to rounder, rather than longer and narrower heads during this period, has been noted at several sites throughout Western Europe, and attempts to explain the phenomenon have linked the cranial change with an influx of immigrants, such as Norse or Norman, introducing different racial characteristics.
But Wharram was an isolated and dwindling population, crippled by both the plague and sheep blight, which combined to spell its doom. Not only did newcomers give it a wide berth, but female skulls do not show the same change.
The Wharram data is therefore unique in that it traces the change in a single, indigenous community, which has been accurately radio carbon dated. It may also point to new theories to explain the cranial blip.
“Our work has yielded few clues on why skulls changed, but we have cast serious doubt on some of the current theories,” said Simon Mays, English Heritage Human Skeletal Biologist. “Despite the best efforts of science, we’re still in the dark to explain why it happened.”
“If immigration was responsible, we would expect both sexes to be affected. We do know that male skulls shapes eventually reverted back, becoming similar to those we have today.”
