A case for the alternative sub-human species of elongated skulls

Brien Foerster · Paracas, Peru · Archaeological Evidence

The Followers & The Genocide
What the Mass Graves Demand

Cranium Elongata · The Follower Theory · Corroboration Needed

Naturally elongated Paracasian skull (left) beside an artificially shaped follower skull (right). The cranial volume difference cannot be produced by binding alone. Source: Brien Foerster / Hidden Inca Tours.

The image above is the central exhibit in Brien Foerster's thesis — two skulls from the same culture and approximate period, yet representing two entirely different biological realities. On the left: a naturally elongated cranium, genetically distinct, with greater volume, absent sagittal suture, and hair confirmed as Caucasian-type red. On the right: an artificially shaped skull — the result of head-binding in infancy — with normal human cranial volume merely redistributed into a cone.

Foerster's argument is not that cranial deformation did not exist among the Paracas. It did — extensively, and predominantly among the non-royal population. His argument is that the commoner class was imitating their rulers: a genetically distinct, naturally elongated elite who they revered, emulated, and ultimately died protecting. That distinction — natural versus artificial elongation — is the axis on which the entire genocide theory turns.

If the followers shaped their heads to resemble their lords, the mass grave of artificially-deformed skulls found dumped without ceremony tells us precisely who was killed first — and who was considered expendable once the royals had fled or been eliminated.

Foerster's Core Claim — The Killing Field

What He Documents and Where the Evidence Sits

Foerster describes, across his lectures and published work, a site — or sites — at the terminal end of the Paracas period where skulls bearing artificial cranial deformation were found in disordered, shallow burial contexts, with perimortem trauma consistent with blows to the head. The contrast with formal Paracas noble burial is stark: the elite were interred in elaborately wrapped textile bundles, seated facing the bay, surrounded by grave goods. These scattered victims were not.

The disordered late-Paracas burial layer is documented in the archaeological literature — though mainstream archaeology does not yet describe it in the explicit genocide terms Foerster uses. What is confirmed:

Confirmed — Archaeological Literature

Violent battle wounds, trophy heads, and obsidian knives have been found at Paracas sites across the period, confirming the culture's end was not peaceful (Silverman & Proulx 2002).

Confirmed — Parallel Andean Case

The Chanka people of highland Peru — contemporaries who also practised cranial modification — show archaeological evidence of systematic blunt-force execution targeted specifically at individuals with modified heads (Tung 2008; Kurin 2014).

Confirmed — Site Abandonment

The PLOS ONE study of Cerro del Gentil confirms the terminal Paracas event was a deliberate, rapid abandonment — objects deposited in a single historical moment, followed immediately by Topará occupation (Splitstoser et al., 2016).

Confirmed — Topará Arrival c.150 BCE

Topará ceramics appear at late Paracas and early Nazca sites. Their fusion with Paracas survivors produced the Nazca culture — which notably does not feature naturally elongated skulls (Tello 1929; Proulx 2008).

Foerster — Not Formally Published

The specific mass grave Foerster describes appears in his lectures and books as an observed synthesis, not a formally excavated site with published stratigraphy and radiocarbon dates. That is the evidential gap this article addresses.

Current Evidential Status

The violence is real. The distinction between noble burial and commoner disposal is archaeologically visible. What has not been done is a formal perimortem trauma analysis of the disordered late-Paracas burial layers, with osteological comparison between naturally elongated and artificially deformed individuals in the same deposit. That study would confirm or challenge Foerster's reading.

The Follower Theory — Social Logic and Archaeological Parallels

Why Would Commoners Bind Their Heads?

The question Foerster poses — why would a population imitate their rulers' skull shape if it was merely cosmetic? — is not trivial. Cranial deformation in infancy is painful, structurally permanent, and requires sustained commitment from parents over the first two years of a child's life. No culture does this casually. It signals either coerced conformity or deeply held belief in the power conveyed by the shape.

If the Paracasian elite were visibly, physically different — taller, longer-necked, red-haired, larger-skulled — their followers may have perceived that physical form as the source of their rulers' power, knowledge, or divine favour. Binding the skull was an attempt to access that status. A published study of highland Peruvian cranial practices supports a related conclusion:

"Greater standardisation of head-shaping practices echoes broader patterns of identity formation across the south-central highlands and may have provided a symbolic basis for the cooperation of elite groups during an era of intensive conflict."
— Velasco, published study on Andean cranial practices

In a period of warfare and social pressure, standardising your skull shape around that of a revered class was a form of political alignment — a visible pledge of loyalty. This is precisely Foerster's argument, arrived at independently by mainstream archaeological analysis of the highland record.

The Timeline — When the Skulls Disappear

c. 800 BCE

Paracas culture coheres on the south coast. Naturally elongated skulls appear in the earliest noble burials. Cranial deformation begins among the follower class, imitating the ruling genetic type.

c. 500–200 BCE

Peak Paracas period. The Wari Kayan necropolis at Cerro Colorado is in active use — formal, seated, textile-wrapped burials of the elite. Artificially deformed skulls proliferate among the broader population.

c. 150 BCE

Topará culture arrives from the north. Coexistence — possibly coerced — with the Paracas population in the Ica Valley and at Cahuachi near Nazca.

c. 200–100 BCE

Terminal abandonment ceremony at Cerro del Gentil. Sites closed rapidly. Topará occupation follows. The formal Paracas burial tradition ends abruptly.

c. 100 BCE – 1 CE

The disappearance of elongated skulls. The rise of the Nazca culture coincides precisely with the vanishing of naturally elongated skulls from the record. Foerster argues the royal bloodline was either killed or forced to flee. The followers — bound skulls only, no genetic elongation — were absorbed, killed, or dispersed.

c. 600 CE

Nazca collapse from agricultural failure and climate change. In desperation the Nazca exhume older Paracas noble skulls and use them for divination — crying back to the vanished elite for rain. Documented archaeologically; an extraordinary testament to the reverence the Paracasian bloodline still commanded centuries after its destruction.

What Corroboration Is Still Needed

The Excavations That Have Not Happened

Foerster's follower-genocide theory is coherent and supported by circumstantial evidence from multiple independent sources. What it lacks is the forensic archaeology that would confirm it as established fact. The following investigations would resolve the question:

Required Corroboration — Outstanding Research Agenda

1. 1. Perimortem Trauma Analysis of Disordered Late-Paracas Burials A systematic osteological study of terminal Paracas burial layers — examining whether blunt-force trauma patterns are concentrated in artificially deformed skulls versus naturally elongated ones. The Chanka case (Tung 2008) provides the methodological template. This has not been done for Paracas.
2. 2. Comparative DNA — Noble vs. Follower Burials at the Same Site Foerster's DNA results show Black Sea/European haplogroups for naturally elongated skulls. No equivalent study exists for the artificially deformed commoner population. If their haplogroups are exclusively haplogroup B (standard pre-Columbian baseline), the genetic distinction between the two classes would be confirmed in the biological record.
3. 3. Peer-Reviewed Publication of Foerster's DNA Results The mtDNA haplogroup results (U2e, T2, H1, H2a) were announced in a book and on a website — not in a journal with methods, controls, and contamination protocols. Independent laboratory replication would either vindicate or refute the Black Sea origin claim entirely.
4. 4. Carbon-14 Dating of the Disordered Burial Layer If the scattered commoner burials date to the terminal Paracas horizon (~150–100 BCE), aligning with the Topará arrival, the temporal case for invasion-linked mass killing is established. No systematic C-14 programme targeting this specific layer has been published.
5. 5. Strontium Isotope Analysis of Both Burial Classes Strontium ratios in tooth enamel reveal where individuals grew up geologically. If naturally elongated nobility show strontium signatures inconsistent with the Peruvian coast — while artificially deformed followers show local coastal signatures — it would confirm the two groups were geographically distinct in origin, not merely socially stratified versions of the same population.

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The Nazca Inheritance — And What Was Lost

The most poignant confirmation of the follower theory's logic comes not from the Paracas period itself but from what the Nazca did centuries later. Foerster documents — and mainstream archaeology confirms — that the Nazca people, who inherited or conquered the Paracas coastal territories, eventually in desperation exhumed mummified Paracas noble skulls from their tombs and used them in divination rituals, appealing to them for rain during a catastrophic drought around 600 CE.

This is not the behaviour of conquerors toward the defeated. This is the behaviour of people who still believed, centuries later, that those elongated skulls had access to power they themselves did not possess. The Nazca abandoned the elongated skull practice entirely upon their rise — yet preserved the reverence for those who carried it naturally. That reverence is itself an archaeological fact, and it speaks directly to what the followers were doing when they bound their infants' heads.

They were not following a fashion. They were reaching toward something they understood themselves not to be.

Primary Sources & References Brien Foerster — Core Lectures Ancient Elongated Skulls of Peru and Bolivia — Full Lecture (Dec 2018) Paracas Peru Elongated Skulls: Evidence They Were Born That Way The Strange Case of the Paracas People — Hidden Inca Tours Academic Sources Splitstoser et al. — The Final Days of Paracas in Cerro del Gentil, PLOS ONE (2016) Reassessing the Chronology of Topará Emergence and Paracas Decline — Radiocarbon / Cambridge (2023) Skeletal Remains from Paracas — Intentional Cranial Modification Study Documentation Pukajay Productions — Three Construction Phases, in conjunction with Brien Foerster

This article presents the research and interpretive framework of Brien Foerster, and identifies the specific archaeological investigations required to confirm or refute the follower-genocide hypothesis. It does not present original theory. DNA results referenced are from Foerster's independent laboratory testing, not yet published in peer-reviewed form. humanityqualifies.blogspot.com