Paracas: Elongated Skulls & Candelabra
Desert peninsula south of Lima, home of the Paracas culture (about 800 BCE to 100 CE): elaborate textiles, the 180 m Candelabra geoglyph on a sea-facing hillside, and cemeteries famous for strongly elongated skulls, many on display in the private Juan Navarro (Paracas History) Museum.
The alternative view
Brien Foerster argues some Paracas skulls are too large and differently structured to be explained by head-binding alone, and has promoted DNA tests he says show unusual lineages.
The mainstream view
Physical anthropologists explain the elongation as intentional cranial modification: binding infants’ heads with cloth and boards, a practice documented worldwide. Large-volume claims have not been confirmed in peer-reviewed studies.
We present both views respectfully and link to the original work so you can judge for yourself.
Sources
- Paracas culture (Wikipedia)
- Artificial cranial deformation (Wikipedia)
- Paracas Candelabra (Wikipedia)
- Paracas National Reserve (Wikipedia)
Tours visiting Paracas: Elongated Skulls & Candelabra (6)
Megalithic Marvels Tour of Peru 2027
Cusco Native (Megalithic Marvels) · 13 May 2027 · 19 days
Derek Olson of Megalithic Marvels hosts a modular Peru expedition: a Paracas and Nazca pre-tour (13–17 May, with the Nazca and Palpa lines and the elongated skulls), the main Cusco tour (17–25 May) with the “megalithic anomalies” of the Sacred Valley, Pisac, Sacsayhuamán and the Q’enqo labyrinth, Ollantaytambo, little-visited Vilcabamba and Machu Picchu, and an optional Easter Island extension (25–31 May). Join one segment or all of them.
from $2,699
Paracas Elongated Skulls Tour (2 days)
Hidden Inca Tours · 2 days
Two-day private tour from Paracas, guided by Brien Foerster. It includes a boat trip to the Ballestas Islands past the Paracas Candelabra ge…
from $760
Paracas Elongated Skulls & Nazca Lines Flight (4 days)
Hidden Inca Tours · 4 days
A four-day private tour pairing the Paracas elongated-skull collections with an overflight of the Nazca Lines, guided by Brien Foerster. It …
from $1,620 Megalithic Marvels Tour of Lake Titicaca 2027
Cusco Native (Megalithic Marvels) · 5 Sept 2027 · 16 days
A modular Megalithic Marvels expedition run by Cusco Native: a Nazca and Paracas pre-tour (5–8 Sep, with the lines and elongated skulls), the Lake Titicaca main tour (8–15 Sep) with Aramu Muru, the Uros islands, the Islands of the Sun and Moon, Tiwanaku and Puma Punku, and an optional Cusco and Machu Picchu extension. Join one segment or all of them.
from $2,599 Juan Navarro Museum Elongated Skulls Tour (2 hours)
Hidden Inca Tours · 2 hours
About 2 hours with Brien Foerster at the Juan Navarro Museum in Chaco Paracas, a private collection of Paracas, Nazca, Wari, Chincha and Inc…
from $50 Paracas Museums Tour: Juan Navarro & Julio C. Tello
Hidden Inca Tours · 1 day
A day tour of the Juan Navarro Museum with its elongated-skull collection and the Julio C. Tello site museum, built on a Paracas-culture vil…
from $125Voices on Paracas: Elongated Skulls & Candelabra
Author and long-time Peru resident who leads Hidden Inca Tours. He researches megalithic stonework, elongated skulls and pre-Inca construction in Peru, Bolivia and Egypt.
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Swiss-born publisher of Legendary Times magazine and long-time face of History’s Ancient Aliens. He champions the ancient-astronaut theory and was long associated with Erich von Däniken.
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