Jericho PPNB Plastered Skulls

During the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period at Jericho, inhabitants removed skulls from buried individuals, modeled lime plaster over the cranial bones to reconstruct facial features, and inset cowrie shells into the eye sockets. British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon excavated seven such skulls in 1953, found cached together beneath a dwelling floor. The plaster followed individual bone structures, producing distinct facial forms. This practice occurred across the Levant during the PPNB at sites including Ain Ghazal, Yiftahel, and Tell Ramad.