Skulls round 2: one face, every colour – Scenes Remade
A ten‑minute visual tour of how skulls appear in ancient art, from Neolithic rites to classical portraiture and Mesoamerican colour, ending with modern scholarly interpretation.
Chapters
- 0:07 Origins of the Skull Symbol
- 1:34 Classical Realism
- 3:01 Mesoamerican Colour
- 4:28 Interpretation and Legacy
On-screen text
- 0:07 Origins of the Skull Symbol
- 0:14 Origins of the Skull Symbol
- 0:31 Çatalhöyük skull plastered in ochre Historical record · Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Çatalhöyük plastered skull (7th millennium BCE)
- 0:49 Tutankhamun’s gold mask shows a stylized skull Historical record · Mask of Tutankhamun, Egyptian Museum, Cairo (discovered 1922)
- 1:07 Ani’s spells guard the head in the afterlife Tradition / scripture · Papyrus of Ani (Papyrus 1046, British Museum)
- 1:25 Reisner I spells protect the head Tradition / scripture · Papyrus Reisner I (Papyrus 1006, Leiden University Library)
- 1:34 Classical Realism
- 1:41 Classical Realism
- 1:58 Attic stele shows laurel‑crowned skull Historical record · Attic funerary stele, National Archaeological Museum, Athens (5th c. BCE)
- 2:16 Caesar’s bust shows realistic skull Historical record · Marble portrait bust of Gaius Julius Caesar, Capitoline Museums, Rome
- 2:34 Pliny notes painted skull masks Historical record · Pliny the Elder, *Natural History* 29.17
- 2:52 Pompeii fresco includes memento mori skull Historical record · House of the Vettii fresco, Pompeii Archaeological Park (1st c. CE)
- 3:01 Mesoamerican Colour
- 3:08 Mesoamerican Colour
- 3:25 Moche vessel shows exaggerated skull Historical record · Moche portrait vessel, Museo Larco, Lima (c. 200 BCE)
- 3:43 Sun Stone’s central skull is Tezcatlipoca Historical record · Aztec Sun Stone, Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City (late 15th c.)
- 4:01 Copán skull jar used in rites Historical record · Maya ceramic jar, Copán, Museo de Antropología, Guatemala (8th c.)
- 4:19 Sipán gold skull pendant in elite burial Historical record · Gold skull pendant, Royal Tomb of Sipán, Lambayeque, Peru (discovered 1987, displayed at Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán)
- 4:28 Interpretation and Legacy
- 4:43 Heroic apotheosis? The Institute's interpretation
- 5:23 Etruscan funerary symbol? The Institute's interpretation
- 5:55 Bindman: skulls spread from memento mori
Sources
Historical record: Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Çatalhöyük plastered skull (7th millennium BCE) · Mask of Tutankhamun, Egyptian Museum, Cairo (discovered 1922) · Attic funerary stele, National Archaeological Museum, Athens (5th c. BCE) · Marble portrait bust of Gaius Julius Caesar, Capitoline Museums, Rome · Pliny the Elder, *Natural History* 29.17 · House of the Vettii fresco, Pompeii Archaeological Park (1st c. CE) · Moche portrait vessel, Museo Larco, Lima (c. 200 BCE) · Aztec Sun Stone, Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City (late 15th c.) · Maya ceramic jar, Copán, Museo de Antropología, Guatemala (8th c.) · Gold skull pendant, Royal Tomb of Sipán, Lambayeque, Peru (discovered 1987, displayed at Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán)
Tradition / scripture: Papyrus of Ani (Papyrus 1046, British Museum) · Papyrus Reisner I (Papyrus 1006, Leiden University Library)
Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 85 s of CPU.