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Indian Scalping

The North American Indians have been given the reputation to scalp their enemies as a custom. Scalping involved removing the skin and hair from the head of an enemy thus leaving their skull exposed. However the following information says this was actually taught to the Indians by the European settlers:

"Before the 1960s most Americans believed that scalping was a distinctive military custom of the American Indians. History books and the popular media all attributed scalping to Indians, who collected the scalplocks of enemies as war trophies and proof of their valor in battle.

But with the advent of the Red Power and other countercultural movements in the 1960s, many people, Indians and non-Indians alike, began to argue that Native Americans had never scalped until they were taught and encouraged to do so by European colonists, who offered them monetary bounties for the scalps of the settlers' enemies."
Ref. Who Scalped Who?

Scalping Indian

It would make more sense that this is an Indian custom as opposed to a European custom. Indians were known to use long hair and headdress as symbols of power and courage. To remove one's hair and scalp, so that no hair could grow again would in essence make this person powerless and defeated, if he were to survive such an act. That was always my personal opinion of head scalping.

Indian Scalping History & Civil Business Politics

What I find interesting about this whole subject is the result of revisionist history movements, as outlined in the original article here.

Sometimes, these revisionist history movements actually are finding valid historical information. But most times, they are trying to fulfill a particular agenda. I don't know what the case is here, and won't try to weigh in on either side, but it does have some deeper connotations other than the mere surface question of whether the practice existed before Columbus or not.

Scalping Indian

Siyo nigadawu (Hello everybody), I was not there when the Europeans first arrived on our shores, but our own oral, religeous, traditions do say alot about this scalping practice. I am Cherokee, and my ancestors were one of the first tribes to meet the Spaniard Desoto, in about 1540-41. We do have a definitave scalping tradition, but it is not very ancient according to our oral histories.
The Elders do not say where it came from, but scalping did have a ceremonial aspect to it. It is posible that it was brought to us by another "Native" tribe, or it may have come with European contact. There are early French and English documents that were once posted in the colonies that illistrate how harvested Native scalps were rewarded with gold. Certain scalps were worth more than others, adult males were worth the most, followed by adult females, last in worth were the scalps of children. These were bought and sold in a similar fashion to that of animal pelts.
Although these flyers were written for non-Indians, in non-Native languages and posted in colonial settlements, it is clear that Native people used this practice against their enemies, by trading the scalps of "hostiles" for european trade goods. I cannot say whom scalped whom first, but I don't think that is the point of the problem. It was obviously a horrible practice, if not just fore the desicration of human dead, but for the commecialization/objectification of human life. Wado (Thank you), Wahde

Scalping Indian

Name: Dan
Country:

Comments: If you look at historical evidence there is no question it existed before columbus arrived. One of the best example can be found in Richard Steckel's "A population history of North America" printed in 2000.

I would just copy the quote but the Rules on this site say no copying -- so to paraphares: At the Crow Creek site in (what is now) South Dakota Archaeolocgical excavations revealed 486 skeletons in a fortification ditch. 90% of the skeletons show cut markings on the skull from scalping. These remains are dated around 1325 A.D.

Scalping had been used in some American Indian cultures a very long time before columbus showed up. Of course there is plenty of evidence that some of the European seattlers supported and paid for the practice so its not like anyone can really claim ancestorial innocents.

Source 1: Hall Steckel, Richard; R. Haines, Michael (2000). A population history of North America. Cambridge University Press. P. 68. ISBN 0521496667.

Indian Scalping

Name: Angelo
Country:

Comments: Contrary to popular belief, scalping did not originate in the U.S. Scalping info dates back before the bible. Most of this practice came from the middle east. The taking of human heads was common, so, apparently for expediency they took the scalps instead of the whole head.