Editing Skull (section)

==Society and culture==
[[File:SSACRAM 116.JPG|thumb|left|upright=.8|Adam was believed to have been buried on [[Mount Calvary]]. Silk embroidery (17th century).]]

[[Artificial cranial deformation]] is a largely historical practice of some cultures. Cords and wooden boards would be used to apply pressure to an infant's skull and alter its shape, sometimes quite significantly. This procedure would begin just after birth and would be carried on for several years.{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}}

===Osteology===
Like the face, the skull and teeth can also indicate a person's life history and origin. [[Forensics|Forensic]] scientists and [[archeology|archaeologist]]s use quantitative and qualitative traits to estimate what the bearer of the skull looked like. When a significant amount of bones are found, such as at [[Spitalfields]] in the UK and [[Jōmon]] [[shell mound]]s in Japan, [[Osteology|osteologists]] can use traits, such as the proportions of length, height and width, to know the relationships of the population of the study with other living or extinct populations.{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}}

The German physician [[Franz Joseph Gall]] in around 1800 formulated the theory of [[phrenology]], which attempted to show that specific features of the skull are associated with certain personality traits or intellectual capabilities of its owner. His theory is now considered to be [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}}

===Sexual dimorphism===
{{main|Sexual dimorphism}}
{{unreliable sources|section|date=November 2022}}
In the mid-nineteenth century, [[anthropologist]]s found it crucial to distinguish between male and female skulls. An anthropologist of the time, [[James McGrigor Allan]], argued that the female brain was similar to that of an animal.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Fee|first=Elizabeth|date=Fall 1979|title=Nineteenth-Century Craniology: The Study of the Female Skull|journal=[[Bulletin of the History of Medicine]]|volume=53|issue=3|pages=415–33|pmid=394780}}</ref> This allowed anthropologists to declare that women were in fact more emotional and less rational than men. McGrigor then concluded that women's brains were more analogous to infants, thus deeming them inferior at the time.<ref name=":0" /> To further these claims of female inferiority and silence the feminists of the time, other anthropologists joined in on the studies of the female skull. These cranial measurements are the basis of what is known as [[craniology]]. These cranial measurements were also used to draw a connection between women and black people.<ref name=":0" />

Research has shown that while in early life there is little difference between male and female skulls, in adulthood male skulls tend to be larger and more robust than female skulls, which are lighter and smaller, with a cranial capacity about 10 percent less than that of the male.<ref name="The Interior of the Skull">{{cite web|url=https://www.theodora.com/anatomy/the_interior_of_the_skull.html|title=5d. The Interior of the Skull|work=[[Gray's Anatomy]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331060529/http://www.theodora.com/anatomy/the_interior_of_the_skull.html|archive-date=31 March 2014|url-status=live|access-date=22 October 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> However, later studies show that women's skulls are slightly thicker and thus men may be more susceptible to head injury than women.<ref>Other Sources:
* {{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Haiyan |last2=Ruan |first2=Jesse |last3=Xie |first3=Zhonghua |last4=Wang |first4=Hao |last5=Liu |first5=Wengling |title=Investigation of the critical geometric characteristics of living human skulls utilising medical image analysis techniques |journal=International Journal of Vehicle Safety |date=2007 |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=345 |doi=10.1504/IJVS.2007.016747}}
* name="Men May Be More Susceptible To Head Injury Than Women, Study Suggests">{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080121122138.htm|title=Men May Be More Susceptible To Head Injury Than Women, Study Suggests|date=22 January 2008|work=[[ScienceDaily]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307191220/http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080121122138.htm|archive-date=7 March 2012|url-status=live|access-date=6 June 2012|df=dmy-all}}
* {{Cite journal|last1=De Boer|first1=H. H. (Hans)|last2=Van der Merwe|first2=A. E. (Lida)|last3=Soerdjbalie-Maikoe|first3=V. (Vidija)|date=September 2016|title=Human cranial vault thickness in a contemporary sample of 1097 autopsy cases: relation to body weight, stature, age, sex and ancestry|journal=International Journal of Legal Medicine|language=en|volume=130|issue=5|pages=1371–1377|doi=10.1007/s00414-016-1324-5|pmid=26914798|pmc=4976057|issn=0937-9827|doi-access=free}}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Ross|first1=M. D.|last2=Lee|first2=K. A.|last3=Castle|first3=W. M.|date=1976-04-10|title=Skull thickness of Black and White races|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1224277/|journal=South African Medical Journal = Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif vir Geneeskunde|volume=50|issue=16|pages=635–638|issn=0256-9574|pmid=1224277}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Adeloye |first1=Adelola |last2=Kattan |first2=Kenneth R. |last3=Silverman |first3=Frederic N. |title=Thickness of the normal skull in the American blacks and whites |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |date=July 1975 |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=23–30 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.1330430105|pmid=1155589 }}
* {{Cite web|title=International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences|url=https://www.msjonline.org/index.php/ijrms/index|access-date=2021-02-18|website=www.msjonline.org}}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Ekşi|first1=Murat Şakir|last2=Güdük|first2=Mustafa|last3=Usseli|first3=Murat Imre|date=2020-11-19|title=Frontal Bone is Thicker in Women and Frontal Sinus is Larger in Men: A Morphometric Analysis|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33229988/|journal=The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery|volume=32|issue=5|pages=1683–1684|doi=10.1097/SCS.0000000000007256|issn=1536-3732|pmid=33229988|s2cid=227159148}}</ref> However, other studies shows that men's skulls are slightly thicker in certain areas.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1186/1746-160X-1-13|title = Thickness of the human cranial diploe in relation to age, sex and general body build|year = 2005|last1 = Lynnerup|first1 = Niels|last2 = Astrup|first2 = Jacob G.|last3 = Sejrsen|first3 = Birgitte|journal = Head & Face Medicine|volume = 1|page = 13|pmid = 16364185|pmc = 1351187 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Some studies show that females are more susceptible to concussion than males.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/S15324826AN1001_2|doi = 10.1207/S15324826AN1001_2|title = Current Issues in the Identification, Assessment, and Management of Concussions in Sports-Related Injuries|year = 2003|last1 = McKeever|first1 = Catherine K.|last2 = Schatz|first2 = Philip|journal = Applied Neuropsychology|volume = 10|issue = 1|pages = 4–11|pmid = 12734070|s2cid = 33825332}}</ref> Men's skulls have also been shown to maintain density with age, which may aid in preventing head injury, while women's skull density slightly decreases with age.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lillie|first1=Elizabeth M.|last2=Urban|first2=Jillian E.|last3=Lynch|first3=Sarah K.|last4=Weaver|first4=Ashley A.|last5=Stitzel|first5=Joel D.|date=2016|title=Evaluation of Skull Cortical Thickness Changes With Age and Sex From Computed Tomography Scans|journal=Journal of Bone and Mineral Research|language=en|volume=31|issue=2|pages=299–307|doi=10.1002/jbmr.2613|pmid=26255873|issn=1523-4681|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|s2cid=39294670|doi=10.1007/s00414-010-0544-3|title=Age and gender-dependent bone density changes of the human skull disclosed by high-resolution flat-panel computed tomography|year=2011|last1=Schulte-Geers|first1=Christina|last2=Obert|first2=Martin|last3=Schilling|first3=René L.|last4=Harth|first4=Sebastian|last5=Traupe|first5=Horst|last6=Gizewski|first6=Elke R.|last7=Verhoff|first7=Marcel A.|journal=International Journal of Legal Medicine|volume=125|issue=3|pages=417–425|pmid=21234583}}</ref>

Male skulls can all have more prominent [[supraorbital ridge]]s, [[glabella]], and [[parietal bone|temporal lines]]. Female skulls generally have rounder [[Orbit (anatomy)|orbit]]s and narrower jaws. Male skulls on average have larger, broader [[palate]]s, squarer orbits, larger [[mastoid process]]es, larger [[Paranasal sinus|sinus]]es, and larger [[occipital condyle]]s than those of females. Male mandibles typically have squarer chins and thicker, rougher muscle attachments than female mandibles.<ref>{{cite journal | pmc=3919368 | date=2013 | last1=G. | first1=V. | last2=Gowri s.r. | first2=M. | last3=J. | first3=A. | title=Sex Determination of Human Mandible Using Metrical Parameters | journal=Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research| volume=7 | issue=12 | pages=2671–2673 | doi=10.7860/JCDR/2013/7621.3728 | pmid=24551607 }}</ref>

===Craniometry===
The [[cephalic index]] is the ratio of the width of the head, multiplied by 100 and divided by its length (front to back). The index is also used to categorize animals, especially dogs and cats. The width is usually measured just below the [[parietal eminence]], and the length from the [[glabella]] to the occipital point.

Humans may be:
* ''Dolichocephalic'' — long-headed
* ''Mesaticephalic'' — medium-headed
* ''Brachycephalic'' — short-headed<ref name="Human Anatomy Volume 3"/>
The [[cephalic index#Vertical cephalic index|''vertical'' cephalic index]] refers to the ratio between the height of the head multiplied by 100 and divided by the length of the head.

Humans may be:
* ''Chamaecranic'' — low-skulled
* ''Orthocranic'' — medium high-skulled
* ''Hypsicranic'' — high-skulled