--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Visitors say, 'Real shrunken heads! Wow!…" description: "\"“Visitors say, 'Real shrunken heads! Wow! How were they made? By slitting the skin, taking out the skull and brains and steaming them with hot sand? Gr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/frances-larson-118499_anthropology_visitors-say-real-shrunken-heads-wow-how_296228.jpg" --- # Visitors say, 'Real shrunken heads! Wow! How were they… ![“Visitors say, 'Real shrunken heads! Wow! How were they made? By slitting the skin, taking out the skull and brains and steaming them with hot sand? Gross!' But what no one asks is: how did they get here? What are they doing hanging up in a university museum in the south of England? Once you start…” quote by Frances Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/frances-larson-118499_anthropology_visitors-say-real-shrunken-heads-wow-how_296228.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/frances-larson-118499_anthropology_visitors-say-real-shrunken-heads-wow-how_296228.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/frances-larson-118499_anthropology_visitors-say-real-shrunken-heads-wow-how_296228.jpg) > ““Visitors say, 'Real shrunken heads! Wow! How were they made? By slitting the skin, taking out the skull and brains and steaming them with hot sand? Gross!' But what no one asks is: how did they get here? What are they doing hanging up in a university museum in the south of England? Once you start to answer that question, you realize that shrunken heads like these are a product as much of European curiosity, European taste and European purchasing power as they are of an archaic tribal custom. It is time to turn the spotlight round and point it back at people like you and me, and at our ancestors, who were responsible for bringing hundreds of these heads into museums and people's homes and who delighted in them as much as -- if not more than -- the people who created them in the first place. After all, it is not the Shuar who are pressing their noses to the glass of an exhibition case in an Oxford University museum.”” [Frances Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-larson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. European colonizers commodified shrunken heads, reflecting curiosity, power, and exploitation. **In simple terms:** Museums display shrunken heads, revealing colonial exploitation. Key Takeaway Critically examine cultural artifacts and their histories. Themes colonialism museum culture ethics history Mood critical inquisitive Type Anthropology:1 First place:0 Heads:1 Museology:1 Oxford university:0 Shuar:1 People Created:1 Like Ancestors:0 Shrunken Heads:1 Heads Museums:1 When to use this quote - museum curation - academic research - public education Key Concepts power dynamics objectification anthropological critique Questions to Reflect On - Who owns cultural heritage? - How should museums address problematic collections? A Different Perspective Ignoring provenance perpetuates injustice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthropology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropology/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Heads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heads/) [Heads Museums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heads-museums-2839395/) [Like Ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-ancestors-2438657/) [Museology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/museology-127157/) [Oxford university](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oxford-university/) [People Created](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-created-596279/) [Shrunken Heads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shrunken-heads-2839394/) [Shuar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shuar-169859/) ## Related quotes > [“My journey to the land of the Shuar tribe had taught me the importance of practical gifts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-shah/my-journey-to-the-land-of-the-shuar-tribe-had-taught-me-the/) [Tahir Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-shah/) > [“Professionalism is like love: it is made up of the constant flow of little bits of proof that testify to devotion and care. Everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomislav-s-ola/professionalism-is-like-love-it-is-made-up-of-the-constant-flow-of/) [Tomislav S. Šola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomislav-s-ola/) > [“It is sad, is it not, that no one today displays an interest in the art of shrunken heads. Men, women, and children walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ruefle/it-is-sad-is-it-not-that-no-one-today-displays-an-interest-in-the-art/) [Mary Ruefle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ruefle/) > [We are connected, like it or not, to the ancestors of our biological families, and their templates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/we-are-connected-like-it-or-not-to-the-ancestors-of-our-biological/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [I would find myself being inspired by things that I've heard as a kid: Nigerian music or African music, some French music or some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burna-boy/i-would-find-myself-being-inspired-by-things-that-i-ve-heard-as-a-kid/) [Burna Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burna-boy/) > [We do not go to the theatre like our ancestors, to escape from the pressure of reality, so much as to confirm our experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/we-do-not-go-to-the-theatre-like-our-ancestors-to-escape-from-the/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [“Like their ancestors, Louise and her parents klutzed away their days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-drescher/like-their-ancestors-louise-and-her-parents-klutzed-away-their-days/) [Henrik Drescher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-drescher/) > [“The secret to good health is to behave like your ancestors did before the Industrial Revolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-secret-to-good-health-is-to-behave-like-your-ancestors-did-before/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [It's part of my DNA as a Portuguese. Like many of my ancestors, there's that need to discover the world - exploration is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-van-zeller/it-s-part-of-my-dna-as-a-portuguese-like-many-of-my-ancestors-there-s/) [Mariana van Zeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-van-zeller/) > [“Here you can see the things that other people created but that I use to express my indiviualism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-mcfarlane/here-you-can-see-the-things-that-other-people-created-but-that-i-use/) [Seth Mcfarlane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-mcfarlane/) > [Great Britain didn't just happen; the British people created this country through decades and centuries of hard work, fighting for democracy, the welfare state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-hartley-brewer/great-britain-didn-t-just-happen-the-british-people-created-this/) [Julia Hartley-Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-hartley-brewer/) > [“Gods always behave like the people who created them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/gods-always-behave-like-the-people-who-created-them/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [People Were Created To Be Loved. Things Created To Be Used. The Reason Why The World Is In Chaos, Is Because Things Are Being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-were-created-to-be-loved-things-created-to-be-used-the-reason/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We place too much of ourselves inside art - so we become part of it and never feel quiet again for the people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-chouette/we-place-too-much-of-ourselves-inside-art-so-we-become-part-of-it-and/) [Laura Chouette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-chouette/) > [The Internet was supposed to bring people together, but it's created big divisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-rogowsky/the-internet-was-supposed-to-bring-people-together-but-it-s-created/) [Scott Rogowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-rogowsky/) ## More Anthropology quotes > [“Marriage," "mating," and "love" are socially constructed phenomena that have little or no transferable meaning outside any given culture. The examples we've noted of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ryan/marriage-mating-and-love-are-socially-constructed-phenomena-that-have/) [Christopher Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ryan/) > [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“A geneticist is a geek who claims to have proven through regression analyses that a Neanderthal had sex with your great-grandmother 50,000 years ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gaede/a-geneticist-is-a-geek-who-claims-to-have-proven-through-regression/) [Bill Gaede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gaede/) > [Michael Jackson is an extremely productive ethnographer, a serious reader of phenomenological and existential philosophy, and a remarkable writer at a level that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-kleinman/michael-jackson-is-an-extremely-productive-ethnographer-a-serious/) [Arthur Kleinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-kleinman/) > [Archaeology is the anthropology of the past, and science fiction is the anthropology of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-vinge/archaeology-is-the-anthropology-of-the-past-and-science-fiction-is/) [Joan D. Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-vinge/) > [Modern anthropology ... opposes the utilitarian assumption that the primitive chants as he sows seed because he believes that otherwise it will not grow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carroll/modern-anthropology-opposes-the-utilitarian-assumption-that-the/) [John Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carroll/) > [For me, a bit of anthropology in the evening is always better than staying and watching the telly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-rhodes/for-me-a-bit-of-anthropology-in-the-evening-is-always-better-than/) [Nick Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-rhodes/) > [When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/when-you-ask-why-did-some-particular-question-occur-to-a-scientist-or/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [I didn't major in anthropology in college, but I do feel I had an education in different cultures very early on. My parents divorced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/i-didn-t-major-in-anthropology-in-college-but-i-do-feel-i-had-an/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [Anthropology is the only discipline that can access evidence about the entire human experience on this planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brian-schiffer/anthropology-is-the-only-discipline-that-can-access-evidence-about/) [Michael Brian Schiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-brian-schiffer/) > [“All social interactions require some loss of freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erol-ozan/all-social-interactions-require-some-loss-of-freedom/) [Erol Ozan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erol-ozan/) > [“Morphological anthropology applied to the physical study of children, is also a strong element in the growth of the new pedagogy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montessori-maria/morphological-anthropology-applied-to-the-physical-study-of-children/) [Montessori Maria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montessori-maria/) > [There are savages without God in any proper sense of the word, but none without ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-savages-without-god-in-any-proper-sense-of-the-word-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anthropology was the science that gave her the platform from which she surveyed, scolded and beamed at the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-howard/anthropology-was-the-science-that-gave-her-the-platform-from-which/) [Jane Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-howard/) > [It's always amusing to look at how something early in the 20th century was written in anthropology and how it's written now. There's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-geertz/it-s-always-amusing-to-look-at-how-something-early-in-the-20th/) [Clifford Geertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-geertz/) [Browse all 286 Anthropology quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthropology/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Visitors say, 'Real shrunken heads! Wow! How were they made? By slitting the skin, taking out the skull and brains and steaming them with hot sand? Gross!' But what no one asks is: how did they get here? What are they doing hanging up in a university museum in the south of England? Once you start to answer that question, you realize that shrunken heads like these are a product as much of European curiosity, European taste and European purchasing power as they are of an archaic tribal custom. It is time to turn the spotlight round and point it back at people like you and me, and at our ancestors, who were responsible for bringing hundreds of these heads into museums and people's homes and who delighted in them as much as -- if not more than -- the people who created them in the first place. After all, it is not the Shuar who are pressing their noses to the glass of an exhibition case in an Oxford University museum.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frances Larson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-larson/visitors-say-real-shrunken-heads-wow-how-were-they-made-by-slitting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anthropology" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-larson/visitors-say-real-shrunken-heads-wow-how-were-they-made-by-slitting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/frances-larson-118499_anthropology_visitors-say-real-shrunken-heads-wow-how_296228.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/frances-larson-118499_anthropology_visitors-say-real-shrunken-heads-wow-how_296228.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/frances-larson-118499_anthropology_visitors-say-real-shrunken-heads-wow-how_296228.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Visitors say, 'Real shrunken heads! Wow! How were they made? By slitting the skin, taking out the skull and…” — Frances Larson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frances Larson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-larson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Visitors say, 'Real shrunken heads! Wow!...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-larson/visitors-say-real-shrunken-heads-wow-how-were-they-made-by-slitting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-larson/visitors-say-real-shrunken-heads-wow-how-were-they-made-by-slitting/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```