Cranial capacity

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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 a larger body, or in some cases are an adaptive feature for life in a colder environment.

Examples of cranial capacity:

Orangutans: 275–500 cc
Chimpanzees: 275–500 cc
Gorillas: 340–752 cc
Humans: 1100–1700 cc
Neanderthals: 1200–1700 cc

Cranial capacity by race:^[1]

Australian Aboriginees: 1225 cc
Caucasians: 1369 cc
Northeast Asians: 1416
Sub-Saharan Africans: 1282 cc
Bushmen: 1270 cc

Examples of early hominids:

Taxon	Size (cc)	# of Specimens	Age (Megannum)
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

[edit] See also

[edit] Reference

McHenry, Henry M. [2002]. "23: Introduction to the fossil record of human ancestry", in Walter C. Hartwig: The Primate Fossil Record (in English). Cambridge University Press, 402. 0521663156.