11 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

As a result of an operation in western Turkey, 4 skulls belonging to the Jivaro tribe of South American origin were seized

In the operation held in the Aliağa district of İzmir, 400 historical artifacts belonging to various periods were seized, including 4 skulls, which are considered to be from the Jivaro tribe of South American origin.

Evaluating a notice, the Ministry of Commerce Customs Enforcement Smuggling and Intelligence Directorate teams conducted an operation to 2 addresses determined in the Aliağa district.

During the searches in the first house, coins from the Byzantine period, 4 bone hairpins, 19 Ottoman manuscripts, as well as 59 historical artifacts from different periods were found.

Upon the expansion of the operation, 4 skulls, 3 mummies, 269 historical artifacts, and 27 paintings from the 18th century were found in a warehouse that was searched.

They seized 337 historical artifacts were delivered to the İzmir Archeology Museum Directorate, and 27 paintings were delivered to the İzmir Painting, Sculpture Museum and Gallery Directorate.

It has been reported that the Aliağa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office continues its investigation into the smuggling of historical artifacts.

They seized 337 historical artifacts were delivered to the İzmir Archeology Museum Directorate, and 27 paintings were delivered to the İzmir Painting, Sculpture Museum and Gallery Directorate.
They seized 337 historical artifacts were delivered to the İzmir Archeology Museum Directorate, and 27 paintings were delivered to the İzmir Painting, Sculpture Museum and Gallery Directorate. Photo: AA

Artifacts from the Neolithic period

İzmir Archeology Museum Director Hünkar Keser said that some of the artifacts seized date to the Prehistoric period.

Noting that there are materials from both Anatolian geography and different parts of the world among the artifacts, Keser said, “The examination of these artifacts will take a long time. We need to do some laboratory or DNA analyzes. It will be possible to determine the date and origin of the artifacts at the end of these analyses. The principle of our country and ministry, international agreements. and according to bilateral agreements, it is to send the work to whichever country it belongs to,” he said.

Skull and mummy remains

Keser gave the following information about the artifacts:

“Our oldest artifacts are flints, arrowheads, which we think belong to the Neolithic period. There are also artifacts that we think are from different cultures of the world. There are tiny skulls the size of oranges among them. We think that they are at least 500 years old, made of real human skulls. These tribes lived before America was discovered.” “When they met the modern world, these skulls started to be smuggled to Europe. Today, it is forbidden to move them to another region.”

Tsantsas, or shrunken heads, is an ancient traditional technique of the Jivaro Indians from Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador. Tsantsas were made from enemies’ heads cut on the battlefield.
Tsantsas, or shrunken heads, is an ancient traditional technique of the Jivaro Indians from Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador. Tsantsas were made from enemies’ heads cut on the battlefield.

Tsantsas, or shrunken heads, is an ancient traditional technique of the Jivaro Indians from northern Peru and southern Ecuador, forensic researchers say.

Tsantsas, or shrunken heads, is an ancient traditional technique of the Jivaro Indians from Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador. Tsantsas were made from enemies’ heads cut on the battlefield. Then, during spiritual ceremonies, enemies’ heads were carefully reduced through boiling and heating, in the attempt to lock the enemy’s spirit and protect the killers from spiritual revenge. The presence of sealed eyelids, pierced lips with strings sealing the mouth, shiny black skin, a posterior sewn incision, long glossy black hair, and lateral head compression are characteristic of authentic tsantsas.”

İzmir Archeology Museum Director Hünkar Keser stated that mummy remains were among the seized materials and that they would conduct DNA analysis to determine where the mummies came from.

Related Articles

Ancient Fish Traps in Denmark Challenge the Neolithic Revolution Narrative and Rewrite Stone Age History

1 July 2025

1 July 2025

A stunning archaeological discovery on the Danish island of Lolland is transforming our understanding of the Neolithic transition. Researchers from...

Czech scientists make “Celtic beer” using analysis of pollen from burial site

22 September 2023

22 September 2023

Czech scientists, together with a small experimental brewer, have recreated the country’s first ‘Celtic Beer’ using laboratory analysis of pollen...

Oldest known arrowheads uncovered in the Americas

24 December 2022

24 December 2022

Archaeologists from Oregon State University have discovered projectile points in Idaho that are thousands of years older than any that...

1300-year-old stone sculpture from the ancient Turkish era found in Kazakhstan

3 August 2021

3 August 2021

A 1,300-year-old stone sculpture from the early Turkish period was discovered in Kazakhstan’s south, around 250 kilometers (155 miles) from...

Bronze Age Treasure Found in Swedish Forests

30 April 2021

30 April 2021

A man who studied the forest to make a map for the orienteering club in western Sweden made an incredible...

Neanderthals of the North

13 May 2022

13 May 2022

Were Neanderthals really as well adapted to life in the cold as previously assumed, or did they prefer more temperate...

The Discovery of a Unique Pre-Viking Helmet Fragment in Lejre, Denmark

23 January 2025

23 January 2025

In Lejre, the northwestern part of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, detectorists have uncovered an exceptionally rare fragment...

5000-year-old fingerprint found in Orkney pottery

23 April 2021

23 April 2021

Fingerprints were found on a pottery dating back 5,000 years in the Orkney archipelago, located in the northern region of...

Extraordinary discovery for the Western Baltic Sea region: a 400-year-old shipwreck Found at Bottom of German River

3 August 2022

3 August 2022

During a routine measurement at Trave, near Lübeck, in the northern part of Germany,  Kiel-Holtenau Waterways and Shipping Authority (Wasserstraßen-...

Rare clay figurine found in Italian Cave dating back 7000 years

26 July 2023

26 July 2023

Archaeologists from Sapienza University of Rome discovered a figure with female features in the Battifratta cave, near Poggio Nativo in...

The first mother-daughter burial from the Roman period found in Austria

3 May 2024

3 May 2024

Modern scientific methods are increasingly uncovering spectacular results from archaeological finds dating back a long time. A grave discovered 20...

New Research Shows Angkor Wat’s Incredible Population Density

11 May 2021

11 May 2021

Angkor Wat was the grand capital of ancient Cambodia. The population of Angkor Wat, one of the most magnificent cities...

Hand disease known as Viking disease may have its origins in Neanderthal genes

14 June 2023

14 June 2023

A recent study in the Oxford University Press journal Molecular Biology and Evolution demonstrates that a condition known as Dupuytren’s...

A Fig Dating Back Over 2,000 Years has been Discovered in North Dublin – A First of Its Kind for Ireland

28 November 2024

28 November 2024

The discovery of a fig dating back 2,000 years during an archaeological excavation of Drumanagh in north Dublin, has been...

The discovery of a 380-million-year-old heart sheds new light on our bodies’ evolution

16 September 2022

16 September 2022

Researchers from Curtin University have discovered the world’s oldest heart in a ‘beautifully preserved’ ancient jawed fish fossil 380 million...