The Celts often took the heads of enemies killed in battle, and kept these both as trophies and as offerings to the gods. The great stone shrine at Roquepertuse had skull-niches in the wall, some filled with representations of heads and others filled with actual skulls. Amongst the Irian Jaya tribe of Indonesia, the skull of one's ancestor is revered and cared for. The body is left to decompose until the skull can be easily removed. The eldest male child then receives the skull and cares for it, using it as a pillow at night, and carrying it by day, so that it will always be protected.
Phrenology is the study of the shape of the head and the lumps thereupon.
Widely popular in antebellum America, it is now in decline. This pseudo-science claims that the shape and size of the cranium will reveal the character of the person and the quality of their mind. Del Close, an actor and comedian who worked with SCTV and Saturday Night Live recently willed his skull to Robert Falls, director of Second City Television. He told Falls that he one day wanted to play the part of Yoric in Hamlet. The origins of the Crystal Skulls are unknown, and though some have been debunked as recently created hoaxes, others reveal that they were created by a technology that we do not have access to today.