Trends in Cranial Capacity and Cranial Index in Subsaharan Africa During the Holocene
Abstract
Craniometric data have been collected from published and unpublished reports of numerous authors on 961 male and 439 female crania from various sites in Subsaharan Africa spanning the last 100 ka. All data available in the literature, irrespective of their “racial” affinities, were used to cover the prehistoric and early historic times (up to 400 a BP). Samples covering the last 400 years do not include European colonists and consist of skeletons exavated at archeological sites, collected by early European travelers and derived from anatomical collections. Cranial capacity, depending on the mode of its calculation, has decreased by 95–165 cm 3 among males and by 74–106 cm 3 among females between the Late Stone Age (30‐2 ka BP) and modern times (last 200 years). Values of the cranial index did not show any trend over time and their averages remained in the dolichocephalic category. The decrease in cranial capacity in Subsaharan Africa is similar to that previously found in Europe, West Asia, and North Africa, but, unlike the latter, it is not accompanied by brachycephalization. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
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Henneberg and Steyn documented a decline in external and internal cranial module in Southern Africa across the same 10,000-year time period.
“Across the same 10,000-year time period, Henneberg and Steyn [8] documented a decline in external and internal cranial module.”
From Selection for smaller brains in Holocene human evolution (2011) · cites this paper as [8]
The sample of LSA foragers before 2000 years BP had a mean external cranial module of 154.7, Iron Age 2000-200 years BP had a mean of 149.6, while recent foragers had a mean of 150.3.
“The sample of LSA foragers (before 2000 years BP) had a mean external cranial module of 154.7, Iron Age (2000-200 years BP) had a mean of 149.6, while recent foragers had a mean of 150.3 - roughly a standard deviation lower than the pre-2000 BP value.”
From Selection for smaller brains in Holocene human evolution (2011) · cites this paper as [8]
The reduction in external module corresponds to a reduction in endocranial volume between 100 and 150 ml.
“But the reduction in external module corresponds to a reduction in endocranial volume between 100 and 150 ml [8].”
From Selection for smaller brains in Holocene human evolution (2011) · cites this paper as [8]
Henneberg and Steyn showed a statistically significant decline in both male and female crania, separated by morphological criteria.
“Henneberg and Steyn [8] showed a statistically significant decline in both male and female crania, separated by morphological criteria.”
From Selection for smaller brains in Holocene human evolution (2011) · cites this paper as [8]
Studies of skeletal samples from different regions of the world are very consistent in finding reductions of endocranial volume during the last 10,000 years.
“Studies of skeletal samples from different regions of the world are very consistent in finding reductions of endocranial volume during the last 10,000 years [6-8,19,22-24].”
From Selection for smaller brains in Holocene human evolution (2011) · cites this paper as [8]
Cites
Brain Size, Cranial Morphology, Climate, and Time Machines [and Comments and Reply]
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Self-citationWiercinski, A. (1979) · Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d anthropologie de Paris · doi:10.3406/bmsap.1979.1979 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
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DeSilva, J. M., Traniello, J. F. A., Claxton, A. G., & Fannin, L. D. (2021) · Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.742639 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
“If the small-brained Middle and Late Pleistocene hominins H. naledi (blue dots) and H. floresiensis (orange dot) are included, these two change points merge into a single, overlapping encephalization event between 1.97 and 2.21 million years ago.”
BackgroundInfluentialFunctional craniology and brain evolution: from paleontology to biomedicine
Bruner, E., de la Cuétara, J. M., Masters, M., Amano, H., & Ogihara, N. (2014) · Frontiers in Neuroanatomy · doi:10.3389/fnana.2014.00019 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
“…human size and robusticity that began 12,000 years ago (Carlson, 1976; Carlson and Van Gerven, 1977; Smith et al., 1985, 1986; Henneberg, 1988; Henneberg and Steyn, 1993; Lahr and Wright, 1996) would act to increase the percentage of the orbit occupied by the eye, and bring humans as a whole…”
BackgroundCraniofacial variation and population continuity during the South African Holocene
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Selection for smaller brains in Holocene human evolution
Hawks, J. (2011) · arXiv · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1102.5604 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Shrunken social brains? a minimal model of the role of social interaction in neural complexity.
Reséndiz-Benhumea, G. M., Sangati, E., Sangati, F., Keshmiri, S., & Froese, T. (2021) · Frontiers in Neurorobotics · doi:10.3389/fnbot.2021.634085 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
- Authors
- Henneberg, M., & Steyn, M.
- Affiliations
- University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
- University of Pretoria (ZA)
- Venue
- American Journal of Human Biology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1993-01
- Volume
- 5
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 473-479
- ISSN
- 1042-0533 (ISSN-L)
- 1520-6300
- OpenAlex
- W2052649228
- Cited by
- 70
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 5.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Human Biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Geometry and Topology › Morphological variations and asymmetry
- Keywords
- cranial capacity, cranial index, Holocene, sub-Saharan Africa, craniometry, dolichocephaly, Later Stone Age, anatomical collections
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