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Tattooed heads from Maori people (New Zealand). Tattoos were made ante-mortem, as a visible biography of the individual, and post-mortem, as an enhancement of the commercial value of such mummified heads for occidental collectors.

 

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Philippe Charlier, MD, PhD, LittD, is a forensic practitioner and anthropologist. He works on representations of the human bodies, and rituals related to diseases and death. He loves words, and more.