A history of head-binding practices thousands of years ago

By Madeleine Reynolds

Published October 27, 2025 at 3:00 PM EDT

The elongated skull of a person who lived in the Colca Valley of highland Peru, where two peoples, the Collaguas and Cavanas, practiced head-binding from about 1100 to 1450.

The Best of Our Knowledge explores topics on learning, education, and research.

Ever thought about wanting to change the shape of your head, well peoples in Latin America did thousands of years ago.

This practice is called head-binding and was done on newborns, when their heads are pliable, to have the desired form of being flat, round, or cone shaped.

We learn all about head binding and the cultural significance of it all.

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