OVER MODELED ASMAT ANCESTOR SKULL DAVID HOWARD TRIBAL ART OVER MODELED ASMAT ANCESTOR SKULL

The first apparent sighting of the Asmat people by explorers was from the deck of a
ship led by a Dutch trader, Jan Carstensz in the year 1623. Captain James Cook
and his crew were the first to actually land in Asmat on September 3,
1770 (near what is now the village of Pirimapun). According to the journals
of Captain Cook, a small party from the HM Bark Endeavour encountered
a group of Asmat warriors; sensing a threat, the explorers quickly retreated.
In 1826, another Dutch explorer, Kolff, anchored in approximately the
same area as that visited by Cook. When the Asmat warriors again frightened
the visitors with loud noises and bursts of white powder, Kolff's crew
also rapidly withdrew. The Dutch, who gained sovereignty over the western half
of the island in 1793, did not begin exploring the region until the early 1900s,
when they established a government post in Merauke in the southeast corner
of the territory. From there, several exploratory excursions with the goal of
reaching the central mountain range passed through the Asmat area and
gathered small numbers of zoological specimens and artifacts. These artifacts
were taken to Europe where they generated much interest, and probably
influenced modernist and surrealist Western artists such
as Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso.

THE DAYAK, IFUGAO, AND NAGA HUMAN SKULLS ARE HEAD HUNTING TROPHIES.
THE ASMAT, VANUATU, AND PALAWAN HUMAN SKULLS ARE CONSIDERED
"ANCESTOR" SKULLS. THE DIFFERENCE IS; HEAD HUNTED SKULLS
ARE ACQUIRED FROM ENEMY VICTIMS!

ANCESTOR SKULLS ARE COLLECTED AND VENERATED TO REMEMBER
DECEASED FAMILY MEMBERS. THE IFUGAO COLLECT BONES OF DEAD
RELATIVES; WRAP THEM IN TRIBAL TEXTILES, AND STORE THEM IN THE
RAFTERS UNDER THEIR HUTS. HUMAN SKULLS AND SKULL CAPS FROM
NEPAL ARE RITUAL OFFERTORY VESSELS THAT ARE USED AS
DRINKING CUPS IN TIBETAN BUDDHIST CEREMONIES.