Caption

Reconstruction of an Ostrogoth woman. Building up the head and face of a woman who lived in the 5th century AD and died aged 35-40. Her skull was discovered in Globasnitz (Carinthia, Austria) and was intentionally deformed at birth, a common practice since the Neolithic era. The half-formed cranial bones of a baby are moulded to give them the desired head shape for life, signifying social status or a particular culture or religion. This was achieved by applying pressure in a variety of ways to the baby's head, perhaps by using bands, bandages, boards, compresses of clay or sandbags. Photographed at the Daynes Studio, Paris, France.