Iron Age skulls reveal some babies had flat head syndrome-long before the 'Back to Sleep' campaign
A study of Iron Age skulls from Italy reveals that flat head syndrome existed thousands of years before the modern 'Back to Sleep' campaign. Researchers suggest the condition is a long-standing human phenomenon rather than a strictly modern medical issue.
Why it matters
This finding provides historical context to a common modern parenting concern, helping to destigmatize the condition by showing its ancient origins.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source Early Iron Age skulls from Matelica, Italy (mid-9th–8th c. BCE) showing flattened crania. Credit: Beck De Lotto et al. 2026 Nearly 3,000 years ago, in central Italy, dozens of Picene people were laid to rest curled up on their sides, as if asleep. When their eternal slumber was disturbed thousands of years later, researchers noted a curiously familiar pattern, one many modern parents and doctors fret over: As infants, many of them had developed a flat spot on their heads.
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