# shrunken heads - how did they do it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 25, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrunken-heads-how-did-they-do-it/389422 "2007-01-25T16:58:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Silence\_of\_the\_clams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silence_of_the_clams)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrunken-heads-how-did-they-do-it/389422/1 "2007-01-25T16:58:05Z")
Reading this [post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=405418) , a link was provided to a shrunken head being auctioned by Christie’s, and in there it was postulated it was 5 inches in height. That’s a small head :eek: How the h… did they do it? Remove the skull and stuff the skin with something else? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrunken-heads-how-did-they-do-it/389422/2 "2007-01-25T17:15:03Z")
[How are shrunken heads made?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a980731.html) by Cecil Adams ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrunken-heads-how-did-they-do-it/389422/3 "2007-01-25T17:20:33Z")
Skin + water = “shrinkage”. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrunken-heads-how-did-they-do-it/389422/4 "2007-01-25T20:38:23Z")
cold water