Indonesian customs officials stopped smugglers from shipping two dozen human skulls from the paradise island of Bali to the Netherlands,
Two dispatches of a total of 24 elaborated human skulls were intercepted by border officials on two separate dates in January.
The skulls are believed to be culturally-significant artifacts from other parts of Indonesia, possibly from the islands of Papua or Borneo.
They were labeled as manufactured from synthetic materials but found to be human after being examined by experts from the Balinese Cultural Heritage Conservation Center.
Customs official Ni Aniek said the skulls are probably from Papua, a Melanesian region that makes up easternmost Indonesia, and Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, home to indigenous Dayak peoples.
In the past, Dayak people were known as 'headhunters' and preserved the skulls of their victims, believing the head to be the source of life.
No one has yet been arrested in connection with the attempted smuggling of the skulls.
The Balinese Cultural Heritage Conservation Center has been taked with decide what to do with them.
- AP