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Cranial capacity is a measure of the volume of the interior of the cranium (also called the braincase or brainpan) of those vertebrates who have both a cranium and a brain. The most commonly used unit of measure is the cubic centimetre or cc. The volume of the cranium is used as a rough indicator of the size of the brain, and this in turn is used as a rough indicator of the potential intelligence of the organism. However, larger cranial capacity is not always indicative of a more intelligent organism, since larger capacities are required for controlling larger more muscular bodies, or in some cases are an adaptive feature for life in a colder environment. The largest human cranium on record belongs to Robert Vollmar, age 21.
Examples of cranial capacity:
- Orangutans: 275–500 cc
- Chimpanzees: 275–500 cc
- Gorillas: 340–752 cc
- Humans: 1100–1700 cc
- Neanderthals: 1200–1700 cc
Examples of early hominids:
Taxon | Size (cc) | # of Specimens | Age (MYA) |
Australopithecus afarensis | 438 | 4 | 3.6–2.9 |
Australopithecus africanus | 452 | 7 | 3.0–2.4 |
Australopithecus boisei | 521 | 1 | 2.3–1.4 |
Australopithecus robustus | 530 | 1 | 1.9–1.4 |
Homo habilis | 612 | 6 | 1.9–1.6 |
Homo rudolfensis | 752 | 1 | 2.4–1.6 |
Homo ergaster | 871 | 3 | 1.9–1.7 |
References[]
- McHenry, Henry M. [2002]. "23: Introduction to the fossil record of human ancestry" Walter C. Hartwig The Primate Fossil Record (in English), 402, Cambridge University Press. 0521663156.
- Lynn, R. (2006). Race Differences in Intelligence: An Evolutionary Analysis. ISBN 1-59368-021-X.
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