Skull deformations

The cult of skull deformations was practiced by several cultures around the globe. A strange practice indeed, spread mainly in ancient Egypt, the Middle East, Africa, North, Central and South America and frequently in China. Some artificially elongated heads, deformed during early childhood, were even found in graves in Bavaria and Lower Austria, too. In more recent times, the deformation of skulls was still practiced in Lapland and on Crete. So far, the purpose of the deformation and why it was practiced all over the world at different times remains unclear. Was it just an ephemeral "ideal of beauty" or the desire to imitate a godly example, a kind of imitation cult?

Place(s) of discovery: all over the world

Age: from ancient until recent times