Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Anatomy logoLink to Journal of Anatomy
. 2001 Sep;199(Pt 3):251–272. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-7580.2001.19930251.x

Frequency variations of discrete cranial traits in major human populations. III. Hyperostotic variations

TSUNEHIKO HANIHARA 1 ,✉, HAJIME ISHIDA 2
PMCID: PMC1468329  PMID: 11554504

Abstract

Seven discrete cranial traits usually categorised as hyperostotic characters, the medial palatine canal, hypoglossal canal bridging, precondylar tubercle, condylus tertius, jugular foramen bridging, auditory exostosis, and mylohyoid bridging were investigated in 81 major human population samples from around the world. Significant asymmetric occurrences of the bilateral traits were detected in the medial palatine canal and jugular foramen bridging in several samples. Significant intertrait associations were found between some pairs of the traits, but not consistently across the large geographical samples. The auditory exostosis showed a predominant occurrence in males. With the exception of the auditory exostosis and mylohyoid bridging in a few samples, significant sex differences were slight. The frequency distributions of the traits (except for the auditory exostosis) showed some interregional clinality and intraregional discontinuity, suggesting that genetic drift could have contributed to the observed pattern of variation.

Keywords: Osteology; excessive ossification, nonmetric cranial traits, clinal variation, geographical variation

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (5.8 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Antón S. C. Endocranial hyperostosis in Sangiran 2, Gibraltar 1, and Shanidar 5. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1997 Jan;102(1):111–122. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199701)102:1<111::AID-AJPA9>3.0.CO;2-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bennett K. A. The etiology and genetics of wormian bones. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1965 Sep;23(3):255–260. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330230313. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bergman P., Hauser G. Multi-dimensional complexes of skull traits. Anthropol Anz. 1985 Jun;43(2):165–171. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Berry A. C. Factors affecting the incidence of non-metrical skeletal variants. J Anat. 1975 Dec;120(Pt 3):519–535. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Carolineberry A., Berry R. J. Epigenetic variation in the human cranium. J Anat. 1967 Apr;101(Pt 2):361–379. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Corruccini R. S. An examination of the meaning of cranial discrete traits for human skeletal biological studies. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1974 May;40(3):425–445. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330400315. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dodo Y. A population study of the jugular foramen bridging of the human cranium. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1986 Jan;69(1):15–19. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330690104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dodo Y. Observations on the bony bridging of the jugular foramen in man. J Anat. 1986 Feb;144:153–165. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Gottlieb K. Artificial cranial deformation and the increased complexity of the lambdoid suture. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1978 Feb;48(2):213–214. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330480215. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hanihara T., Ishida H. Frequency variations of discrete cranial traits in major human populations. I. Supernumerary ossicle variations. J Anat. 2001 Jun;198(Pt 6):689–706. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-7580.2001.19860689.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hanihara T., Ishida H. Frequency variations of discrete cranial traits in major human populations. II. Hypostotic variations. J Anat. 2001 Jun;198(Pt 6):707–725. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-7580.2001.19860707.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hanihara T., Ishida H. Os incae: variation in frequency in major human population groups. J Anat. 2001 Feb;198(Pt 2):137–152. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-7580.2001.19820137.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hertzog K. P. Associations between discontinuous cranial traits. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1968 Nov;29(3):397–403. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330290314. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. JORGENSEN J. B., LAUGHLIN W. S. Isolate variation in Greenlandic Eskimo crania. Acta Genet Stat Med. 1956;6(1 Pt 2):3–12. doi: 10.1159/000150804. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kennedy G. E. The relationship between auditory exostoses and cold water: a latitudinal analysis. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1986 Dec;71(4):401–415. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330710403. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Konigsberg L. W., Kohn L. A., Cheverud J. M. Cranial deformation and nonmetric trait variation. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1993 Jan;90(1):35–48. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330900103. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Livshits G., Kobyliansky E. Fluctuating asymmetry as a possible measure of developmental homeostasis in humans: a review. Hum Biol. 1991 Aug;63(4):441–466. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Livshits G., Yakovenko K., Kletselman L., Karasik D., Kobyliansky E. Fluctuating asymmetry and morphometric variation of hand bones. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1998 Sep;107(1):125–136. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199809)107:1<125::AID-AJPA10>3.0.CO;2-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Manzi G., Gracia A., Arsuaga J. L. Cranial discrete traits in the middle pleistocene humans from Sima de los Huesos (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). Does hypostosis represent any increase in "ontogenetic stress" along the Neanderthal lineage? J Hum Evol. 2000 Mar;38(3):425–446. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1999.0362. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Mayhall J. T., Dahlberg A. A., Owen D. G. Torus mandibularis in an Alaskan Eskimo population. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1970 Jul;33(1):57–60. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330330109. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Mayhall J. T., Mayhall M. F. Torus mandibularis in two Northwest Territories Villages. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1971 Jan;34(1):143–148. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330340110. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Smith F. H. Evolutionary significance of the mandibular foramen area in Neandertals. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1978 May;48(4):523–531. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330480412. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Standen V. G., Arriaza B. T., Santoro C. M. External auditory exostosis in prehistoric Chilean populations: a test of the cold water hypothesis. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1997 May;103(1):119–129. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199705)103:1<119::AID-AJPA8>3.0.CO;2-R. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. TORGERSEN J. Hereditary factors in the sutural pattern of the skull. Acta radiol. 1951 Nov;36(5):374–382. doi: 10.3109/00016925109176987. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Thorne A. G., Wolpoff M. H. The multiregional evolution of humans. Sci Am. 1992 Apr;266(4):76-9, 82-3. doi: 10.1038/scientificamerican0492-76. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Trinkaus E. Bilateral asymmetry of human skeletal non-metric traits. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1978 Sep;49(3):315–318. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330490304. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Wood-Jones F. The Non-metrical Morphological Characters of the Skull as Criteria for Racial Diagnosis: Part I: General Discussion of the Morphological Characters Employed in Racial Diagnosis. J Anat. 1931 Jan;65(Pt 2):179–195. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Anatomy are provided here courtesy of Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland

RESOURCES