The authors of the study—which was led by Sara Juengst from the Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina–Charlotte—say that this burial is"unique," representing the only known evidence of juvenile skulls being used as ritual headgear.Newsweek
."[Although] including extra heads in burials is not so uncommon in pre-Hispanic South America, either as trophy heads made from enemies, or as ensuring links to ancestors." The study suggests that the cranial"helmets" were placed around the head of the infants at the time of burial. All of them showed signs of injury associated with bodily stress. The researchers say it's likely that the skull"helmets" still had flesh on them when they were used as headgear because without it, they would have fallen apart,According to the researchers, the human head was a"potent symbol" for many ancient South American cultures.
"Heads were commonly depicted in iconography, pottery, stone, and with literal heads in pre-Columbian South America," Juengst said."They are generally representative of power, ancestors, and may demonstrate dominance over other groups—such as through the creation of trophy heads from conquered enemies. Children were also seen by many Andean groups as special in ritual circumstances—such as the Inca sacrifice of children on mountaintops.
"We don't have any evidence that any of these children were sacrificed and the presence of pathology suggests that they probably were quite ill anyway," she said."What the relationship was between the primary burials and additional skulls is unclear currently though. We suspect that they were doing this in reaction to some sort of natural or social disaster and are ensuring that these infants had extra protection or extra links to ancestors through their burials.