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The babies — buried between 5,000 to 12,000 years ago — have peculiar features which wouldn't look out of place in sci-fi blockbusters.

But Texas A&M University researchers think the babies’ weird heads have a tragic rather than paranormal explanation, Mirror Online reports.

They believe the fragile skulls were intentionally re-shaped in a cruel practice which involved applying weights to newborn babies’ heads.

The head of a newborn is relatively soft — to help with birth — and researchers think the heads were reshaped as a way to flaunt wealth.

(Image: Q WANG)

So-called modified skulls have been found in areas ranging from southeastern Australia to the Americas.

But it is a mystery where the bizarre practice originated.

One research group discovered an adult woman with a cone-shaped “alien” skull in Peru.

Qian Wang, co-author of this latest study in China, said: “It is too early to tell whether intentional cranial modification first emerged in East Asia and spread elsewhere or originated independently in different places.”

(Image: Q WANG)

The cone-shaped skull of a three-year-old boy was found buried with artefacts which suggested his family was rich and high-status.

Similarly, a woman whose tomb was adorned with shell ornaments also had a cone-shaped skull.

Meanwhile, a Chinese science fiction writer claims he owns an “alien” skull which has two separate layers.

This comes after it was reported 800 tombs had been found in a spooky Ancient Egyptian burial site dubbed "Lost City of the Dead".