 The practice of using reserve heads appears to have ended sometime during the Sixth dynasty, replaced by the practice of covering the head or the entire body of the deceased in plaster.These face and body coverings that were created may have the same purpose as the reserve head, working as a substitute location for the spirit if the original head decayed or was otherwise destroyed.It seems likely that both the practice of crafting reserve heads and that of covering the body or face of an individual with plaster overlapped considerably, with an early example of the latter dated to the end of the Fourth dynasty based on the pottery that was found with it.