--- title: "Scientists Intrigued by Conical Skull Found in Ancient Burial Ground" description: "Archaeologists in Iran have discovered an ancient cone-shaped skull that is believed to have belonged to a teen girl." date: "2025-06-14" modified: "2025-06-14" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/cone-skull-burial-ground" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "ancient humans" - "archaeology" - "skulls" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Intrigued by Conical Skull Found in Ancient Burial Ground ![Archaeologists in Iran have discovered an ancient cone-shaped skull that is believed to have belonged to a teen girl.]() *\Image: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology (2025). DOI: 10.1002/oa.3415 / Getty / Futurism\* ## Head Game Archaeologists in Iran have discovered an ancient cone-shaped skull that is believed to have belonged to a teen girl — and there are signs of tragedy in her bones. As [*Live Science* reports](), the skull, which was found in a prehistoric burial ground known as Chega Sofla without its corresponding skeleton, shows signs not only of intentional modification, but also possibly fatal blunt force trauma. Dated to roughly 6,200 years old, the strange cone shape of the skull appears to be the product of a practice archaeologists today call [artificial cranial modification](), a process similar to foot-binding in which the soft skulls of children are bandaged to deliberately deform them. Found [across cultures and millennia](), this type of body modification has been undertaken for various reasons, including to [denote social status]() or adhere to [beauty standards](), as evidenced by it more often being [seen in girls]() than boys. Though it's still [occasionally practiced today](), the practice sometimes referred to as "skull elongation" was far more common in prehistoric times. The girl with the conical skull in this study, for instance, was believed to have lived in the fifth millennium BCE. ## Violent Ends Aside from the cone-shaped cranium of the young woman, who was believed to be younger than the age of 20, archaeologists Mahdi Alirezazadeh and Hamed Vahdati Nasab of the Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran — who also authored a study about their discovery that was recently [published in the *International Journal of Osteoarcheology*]() — also found a long, unhealed fracture on the back of the skull that likely killed her. "We know this woman experienced the fracture in the final moments of her life," Alirezazadeh told *Live Science*, "but we don't have any direct evidence to say that someone intentionally struck her." Though it's unclear whether the ancient teen in question was intentionally killed or died by accident, the researchers believe that the modified shape of her skull likely made it weaker and more susceptible to trauma than a conventional cranium. Along with pointing out that an unmodified fractured skull was found alongside the conical skull in the portion of Chega Sofia where they were working, Alirezazadeh also noted that whatever killed the latter "was so severe that it would have fractured a normal, unmodified skull as well." **More on head science:** [*Scientists Want You to Ink an Electronic Tattoo On Your Forehead So Your Boss Can Detect Your Mental State*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()