Artificial cranial deformation

Left: Portrait of Yuezhi prince from Khalchayan, c. 1st century CE.
Right: Elongated skull excavated in Samarkand (dated 600–800 CE), Afrasiab Museum of Samarkand

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 (produced by binding between two pieces of wood), rounded ones (binding in cloth), and conical ones are among those chosen or valued in various cultures.

Typically, the alteration is carried out on an infant, when the skull is most pliable. In a typical case, head binding begins approximately a month after birth and continues for about six months.