Abstract:

The cranium is the most studied and utilized human skeletal material in physical anthropology. Cranial vault thickness is the distance from the inner surface of the skull to the outside of the skull, and is one of the measured characteristics of the skull. It is of great importance in the study of physical anthropology. At present, the researches on cranial thickness have focused on: age-related and era-related changes, population and gender differences, factors influencing cranial thickness, the effect of skull thickness on the mechanical properties of the skull. The above researches on various aspects of cranial thickness have investigated differences in cranial thickness in different human populations and better understood the factors that contribute to these differences, delving deeper and dispersing the relevant research, and providing a more comprehensive understanding of human cranial variation and evolution.

In the field of medicine, the study of the distribution characteristics of cranial bone thickness and the differences between sexes, ages, and populations can help to improve the correct rate of clinical diagnosis of brain diseases and the success rate of surgery. In the field of forensic anthropology, the thickness characteristics of even fragmented skulls can still provide important information for identification. In the field of archaeology, the distribution characteristics and abnormal changes of cranial thickness can help analyze the type characteristics of deformed crania, the way of applying force and related tools, and provide a basis for the study of social phenomena, cultural behaviors, social relations and other issues.

China’s attention to cranial thickness is relatively late, with fewer thematic studies and a lack of more in-depth research. However, the large number of cranial remains unearthed in China, with a large age span and a wide range of distribution, provide great basic conditions for various studies on cranial thickness.

Overall, this study provides valuable insights into population-specific cranial thickness variations and their potential underlying factors. The findings highlight the complex interplay between genetics, environment, and socio-cultural factors in shaping cranial morphology. Understanding these variations has important implications for forensic anthropology, population genetics, and evolutionary biology. This paper briefly reviews the research on cranial vault thickness variation and the measurement methods of cranial thickness-related parameters by summarizing the research data.

Key words: Human, Skull, Thickness