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Artificial cranial deformation
 
 
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Artificial cranial deformation or artificial deformation of the skull is any practice of intentionally deforming the skull of a human being. It is done by distorting the normal growth of a child's skull by applying force. It may also be performed as a rite of passage in adulthood or spiritual maturation, such as phowa
Phowa

Phowa is a Tibetan term for a Buddhist meditation practice that may be translated as the "practice of conscious dying", "transference of consciousness at the time of death" or "mindstream transference"....
.

y examples of intentional human cranial
Cranial

Cranial may refer to:* cranium* Anatomical terms of location* Cranial Osteopathy...
 deformation predate written history and date back to 45,000 BC in Neanderthal
Neanderthal

The Neanderthal , or Neandertal, is an extinct member of the Homo genus that is known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia....
 skulls from the Shanidar Cave in Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.






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Artificial cranial deformation or artificial deformation of the skull is any practice of intentionally deforming the skull of a human being. It is done by distorting the normal growth of a child's skull by applying force. It may also be performed as a rite of passage in adulthood or spiritual maturation, such as phowa
Phowa

Phowa is a Tibetan term for a Buddhist meditation practice that may be translated as the "practice of conscious dying", "transference of consciousness at the time of death" or "mindstream transference"....
.

History


Early examples of intentional human cranial
Cranial

Cranial may refer to:* cranium* Anatomical terms of location* Cranial Osteopathy...
 deformation predate written history and date back to 45,000 BC in Neanderthal
Neanderthal

The Neanderthal , or Neandertal, is an extinct member of the Homo genus that is known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia....
 skulls from the Shanidar Cave in Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Extreme practices have seemingly not persisted into this century, but mild forms are still practiced by various groups worldwide.

The earliest written record of cranial deformation dates to 400 BC in Hippocrates
Hippocrates

Hippocrates of Cos II or Hippokrates of Kos - ancient Greek: ; Hippokr?tes was an Ancient Greece physician of the Age of Pericles, and was considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine....
’ description of the Macrocephales people who were named for their practice of cranial modification (Gerszten and Gerszten, 1995).

Methodology


Deformation usually begins just after birth for the next couple of years until the desired shape has been reached or the child rejects the apparatus (Dingwall, 1931; Trinkaus, 1982; Anton and Weinstein, 1999).

Types


There is no established classification system of cranial deformations. Many scientists have developed their own classification systems, but none have agreed on a single classification for all forms that are seen (Hoshower et al., 1995).

In Europe and Asia three main types of artificial cranial deformation have been defined by E.V. Zhirov (1941, p.82):
  • Round
  • Fronto-occipital
  • Sagittal.


Reasons


The reasons for performing cranial deformation are varied.

A prominent hypothesis is that deformation was performed to signify group affiliation (Gerszten and Gerszten, 1995; Hoshower et al., 1995; Tubbs, Salter, and Oaks, 2006).

Or, it may have been done to demonstrate elite status. This may have played a key role in Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
ian and Mayan societies. Queen Nefertiti
Nefertiti

Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for changing Egypt's religion from a polytheistic religion to a monotheistic religion....
 is often depicted with what may be an elongated skull, as is King Tutankhamen (Gerszten and Gerszten, 1995).

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