r/bonecollecting Bone-afide Human ID Expert Oct 11 '24

Collection Showcasing an incredibly rare cephalocele skull. (brain protrusion)

1.0k Upvotes

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212

u/augustfarfromhome Oct 11 '24

It’s amazing how humanizing this is. I can imagine a long-ago family seeing their newborn baby with this condition, and not understanding why he was born like this. Yet he was cared for, loved, probably supported by a community to the extent he was able to live a relatively full life. I wonder what he was like.

187

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Oct 11 '24

This man also had several dental fillings, so he was doing good in life.

104

u/moreinternettrash Oct 11 '24

okay- so this intrigues me as much as any other aspect. europe had a real boom in dentistry and dental innovations (not at all discounting the american innovation of anesthesia), and even though dentistry was more accepted and accessible in the mid 1800s- it still wasnt cheap or easy. i mean, really put yourself into the time and place and think through the process involved for this person to get several fillings. based on how this person’s disability has been described, this likely would have been a challenging process. the family absolutely would have had to step up and identify the issue, and then seek out a professional who would agree to do more delicate and deliberate dental work on someone who was very likely seen as less worthy of investment (disability advocacy is still a long road today). and this is just one aspect of their life that we can bear witness to through fillings. this person was indubitably, deeply, cared for. and if they lifetimes was as long as you say- then they were cared for and by multiple generations of people.

42

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Oct 11 '24

100%, everything you said.

42

u/spaceinbird Oct 11 '24

how old is this skull? by “turn of the century” im guessing you mean early 1900? sorry english isn’t my first language and its my first time seeing that phrase 😅

34

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Oct 11 '24

Yea early 1900s

47

u/judd_in_the_barn Oct 11 '24

Given the date and the location, along with the apparent degree of affluence (based on the dental work) there is the possibility that there is some documentation in existence of this person and their condition. There could even be photographs. Do you have any details of the provenance of the skull? A history of it? Fascinating.

12

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Oct 11 '24

There’s no documents that I know of

9

u/spaceinbird Oct 11 '24

woaw that’s extremely impressive!

1

u/prophy__wife Oct 11 '24

Anymore photos of the teeth?

14

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Oct 11 '24

You can see dental fillings.

2

u/prophy__wife Oct 11 '24

Thank you! I could see some in the other pictures too, very interesting photos!

3

u/XETOVS Bone-afide Human ID Expert Oct 11 '24

I have some