The ‘Wise Bloods’ shrinking ead from the 1970s was shown to be genuine and “made from human tissue.”

Recently, a shrunkеn head, known as a tѕаntѕа, featured in the 1979 dark comedy “Wise Bloods,” was confirmed to be authentic human remains. The head had been obtained by Mercer University in 1942 when a former faculty member acquired it in Ecuador while serving in the U.S. military. This revelation came to light through research conducted by scientists Craig D. Byron and Adam M. Kiefer from Georgia University, as shared in a research paper on Heritage Science.

In the film “Wise Bloods,” the shrunkеn head was attached to a fake tiny body and became an object of worship for one of the characters.

“The singular artifact in this paper is presumed to be an authentic tѕаntѕа composed of human tissue,” wrote professors Byron and Kiefer in their research paper.

Over the years, scientists at Mercer University conducted numerous tests to authenticate the artifact, allowing it to be returned to the government of Ecuador.

“It’s a relief to have the specimen out of our possession,” said Byron to The Art Newspaper on Monday. “It had ‘underground’ value; it was illegal to trade or sell; it was the skin from a person’s head.”

The scientists at Mercer University performed countless tests over the years to authenticate the artifact so that it could be returned to Ecuador’s government.

“It’s a relief to have the specimen out of our possession,” said Byron to The Art Newspaper on Monday. “It had ‘underground’ value; it was illegal to trade or sell; it was the skin from a person’s head.”

The experts revealed that the artifacts became “monetarily valuable as keepsakes and curios during the nineteenth century.”

Due to the value placed on the heads, experts had to spend years testing the tѕаntѕа’s size, structure, hair, hairstyle, and many other factors. They also performed CT scans.

Over the years, scammers tried to replicate tѕаntаѕ using animals, synthetic materials, or “the heads of European victims” to get money for the items, as noted by the Mercer University scientists.

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