Examining the effects of artificial cranial modification on craniofacial metrics

Abstract

Studies focusing on biological differences among groups have been a widespread area of anthropological research for decades. One of the most common means of assessing biological differences is through comparing craniofacial metrics. Craniofacial growth is under genetic control but strongly influenced by environmental factors, including artificial cranial modification (ACM). Some scholars believe ACM affects craniofacial metrics, but other scholars disagree. This study seeks to remedy this debate. A total of 218 adult crania (101 unmodified, 117 modified) from coastal and inland sites of three northern Chilean valleys were surveyed and examined for craniofacial metric changes through the use of modern orthodontic cephalometric analyses. Unmodified crania were statistically tested with the hierarchical linear analysis test to determine if there were any differences based on site, region (coast vs. inland), period, or sex within the unmodified sample, followed by a comparison of these data to modified cranial data. Statistical tests, specifically the ANOVA test, of the data determined that ACM affected some but not all craniofacial measurements utilized in this study. This conclusion, coupled with the varying conclusions of similar previously conducted studies, suggests that scholars must be cautious in employing modified crania and craniofacial metrics in any study of biological affinities.