The origin of the heavy granite and laterite stones of up to three feet high and 2,000 years old remains a mystery. But some villagers have no doubts, even challenging theories on East Africa's Rift Valley as the cradle of mankind. Such lore attributes flattened rocks found there to the creator's footprints as he stepped back to heaven.
Farmers are often less star-struck, selling any heads they find to tourists for a pittance.
Ivorian anthropologists staging an exhibition in the commercial capital Abidjan this month hope to dispel myths and spur a wider interest in promoting Africa's forgotten past. The problem is that West Africa's tropical climate means clues to history often rot, leaving only rich oral tradition. Niangoran-Bouah told Reuters. Later carvings with busts and full figures show man's head at one third rather than one seventh of his height. The faces, once used in mask rituals, are said to have been buried by God to protect women and children from seeing them.