Intentional cranial modification (ICM) was a cultural practice followed by many ancient groups across the world with considerable geographic and temporal variability. Since the pioneering descriptions of the ICM in the Paracas Peninsula skulls (South-Central Coast of Peru), studies have suggested the association between the type of ICM and sex. Thus, the current study explores whether the types of ICM during the Paracas Cavernas period (550–200 cal BC) in Cerro Colorado were signs of identity based on sex, social status, or kinship. The cranial shape of 159 individuals (137 adults and 22 non-adults) was described and classified using non-metric parameters. The results demonstrate that nearly all individuals (98%) presented with ICM. Although Tabular Erect was the most frequent type of ICM in the entire sample (60%), the Bilobate type was significantly more frequent in females (34%) than in males (19%). All ICM types are evenly distributed among the status groups without obvious patterns of ICM frequency among burial spaces. To explain the findings, we discuss the quadripartition principle, a notion of Andean cosmology related to gender perception, which may have contributed to defining the shapes of heads during the Paracas Cavernas period.

故意颅骨改造 (ICM) 是一种文化习俗，被世界各地的许多古老群体所遵循，具有相当大的地理和时间可变性。自从帕拉卡斯半岛头骨（秘鲁中南部海岸）对 ICM 的开创性描述以来，研究表明 ICM 的类型与性别之间存在关联。因此，目前的研究探讨了科罗拉多山帕拉卡斯洞穴时期（公元前 550-200 卡路里）的 ICM 类型是基于性别、社会地位或亲属关系的身份标志。使用非度量参数对 159 名个体（137 名成人和 22 名非成人）的颅骨形状进行了描述和分类。结果表明，几乎所有个体 (98%) 都出现了 ICM。尽管板状直立是整个样本中最常见的 ICM 类型 (60%)，但双叶型在女性 (34%) 中的频率明显高于男性 (19%)。所有 ICM 类型均匀分布在不同的地位群体中，墓地之间没有明显的 ICM 频率模式。为了解释这些发现，我们讨论了四分原理，这是一种与性别感知相关的安第斯宇宙学概念，它可能有助于定义帕拉卡斯洞穴时期的头部形状。