Time to Learn

Teratology: the Others of History (release 1)
Text by Fabricio Valdivieso, edited by Jorge Angel-Mira, art by Blueprinted Education

 I was at the National Museum in San Salvador, El Salvador, standing in front of a two thousand year old clay figure depicting a body with a head bigger than the rest of the torso. Perhaps this was a purposely designed  by the craftsmen, or maybe there was something else that the artisan wanted us to know.

In curiosity I began to search about these abnormalities and stumbled across the term "Teratology," which means the study of abnormalities of physiological development. Upon reading more about this, I was fascinated by the power of this topic! I began to think to myself that there is something mysterious behind the history of this figure that we should know more about.

Little by little I started getting involved in the theme, as an intellectual trap from which is very difficult to get rid. In every book or article that I have read, I had been paying much attention to all those details that explain something about these human beings living around the world in ancient and contemporary times.
  
So, I took a journey into that hidden world attempting to understand that side of history and humanity that we rarely speak about. In fact, teratology within the disciplines of archaeology and history deals with a concealed past of myths, monsters and fantasy beings that once ruled the earth. Teratology is indeed a topic that goes back and forth between different spots around the world and across time lines. In the following passage I would like to share a journey that gave me the chance to visit many places and read many books about these human beings and their role throughout time.  Let's take a first glance to what I have gathered during this days...

So, here we are,  in Mexico City, 1992. During the construction of line 8 of the Metro System, standing upon the remains of what once had been the Royal Hospital of Indigenous People (Hospital Real de los Naturales) in the 16th Century, archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) uncovered the bones of a dwarf man at location.  As often happened in those days, this person allegedly died as a result of an epidemic and was buried in a mass grave (Báez Molgado 1995).

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That’s right! Archaeologists found proof of  developmental abnormalities on the archaeological record. Imagine, being this dwarf man without any support during those stormy days of early Spanish colonialism. I kept asking myself how this man’s life was during those days? He had no words, no claims, no rights, just another man who died and was thrown into the pit without any other considerations. No doubt they must have been difficult days for someone in those circumstances  living in a society that judged and limited opportunities for someone in the subjugated sector, such as the indigenous ethnic groups during the early Spanish colony.

When I read about this discovery, I gave this archaeological case a long and hard thought. Unfortunately this dwarf finding wasn't enough to really understand and learn about their turbulent past.  But at least it was enough to confirm the existence of these people during that time, and imagine how life could it be living inside a body which was surrounded by discrimination. 

There must be more findings and perhaps something more to say about the past of social minorities living with congenital disorders during turbulent times.

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I was almost right! There have been more findings within other geographical areas and timelines.

In 1994, research was conducted on nineteen skeletons in Iximche, Guatemala, a place from the late Postclassic Mayan period (1470-1524.) In that site, archaeologists revealed that three of those individuals suffered from arthritis in pre-Hispanic times (Whittington and Reed 1994).

Arthritis... hmm, a degenerative disorder that affects joints is not a teratological matter though; meaning it is not congenital. Instead,  it is a kind of deformity that leaves people in an abnormal condition for a certain part of  their life, often when people start getting old.
 
Nevertheless, Iximche provides a short, but important record of people who lived in pain within established societies, and as part of a world in which war and social change requires a very healthy condition to survive. At least a kind of “mute” record that someone might be talking about it inside the Academia.

However, sites with interesting findings may appear in unexpected places around the world. The history of these people  likely goes back centuries and is tracked by the skeleton remains. Europe gives us a great examples of these discoveries, going back to 12,000 years to the past.    

To be continued...

References
- Báez Molgado, Socorro (1995). Un enano en la época colonial. In Presencias y Encuentros. Investigaciones Arqueológicas de Salvamento. Dirección de Salvamento Arqueológico, INAH. Mexico .
- Wittington, Sthephen L. y David M. Reed (1994). Los esqueletos de Iximche. In VII Simposio de InvestigacionesArqueológicas en Guatemala, 1993. Ed. Por J. P. Laporte y H. Escobedo.MuseoNacional de Arqueología y Etnología:17-22.

Do you want to share your story with us? Please contact me and let's talk
cfvaldivieso@blueprintededucation.com

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