Is there Evidence for Artificial Cranial Deformation at the Willandra Lakes?

Abstract

Webb (1989) contends that the morphology of the WLH 67 cranium suggests that this individual had been artificially deformed. A reanalysis of this cranium shows that WLH 67 was reconstructed improperly. The unusual cranial contours of this individual result from the inaccurate reconstruction, not from any cultural practice. As this individual was the only purported example of this practice at the Willandra Lakes, there is currently no evidence to suggest that artificial deformation was practised there during the late Pleistocene or early Holocene.