Artificial cranial deformation
Artificial cranial deformation or modification, head flattening, or head binding is a form of body alteration in which the skull of a human being is deformed intentionally. It is done by distorting the normal growth of a child's skull by applying force. Flat shapes, elongated ones, rounded ones, and conical ones are among those chosen or valued in various cultures.
Portrait of Alchon Hun king Khingila, from his coinage, c. 450 CE
Legendary Iranian king Rostam, depicted in this 7th century CE mural at Panjikent, Sogdia, with an elongated skull in the fashion of the Alchon Huns
Elongated skull of a young woman, probably an Alan
Female skull found in Mozs, Hungary, c. 5th century
The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone, however two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, these two parts are the neurocranium (braincase) and the viscerocranium that includes the mandible as its largest bone. The skull forms the anterior-most portion of the skeleton and is a product of cephalisation—housing the brain, and several sensory structures such as the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. In humans, these sensory structures are part of the facial skeleton.
Skull in situ
Anatomy of a flat bone – the periosteum of the neurocranium is known as the pericranium
Chimpanzee skull
Fish head parts, 1889, Fauna of British India, Sir Francis Day