And when the team compared these ancient genes to modern peoples’, they found that the men and the women whose skulls were not modified closely matched northern and central European populations. However, the female skulls with ACD belonged to southeastern European ancestors like Romanians and Bulgarians. (Second-century Romania is considered to be the earliest location in Europe where the practice was common, but there, it was as common for men as for women, Price writes.) One of the women even showed East Asian ancestry.

…The skulls might have belonged to high-status or noble southeastern European women who traveled to Bavaria to marry for political alliances. ACD is believed to have been practiced only amongst the wealthy, Price reports.

…The “political marriages” part of Burger’s theory can be debated, but the research debunks the theory about the Huns bringing skull modification to Western Europe.

Pointy-Headed Medieval Skulls in Germany May Have Been Bulgarian ‘Treaty Brides’ | Smart News | Smithsonian

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