A Geometric Morphometric Study of Neurocranial Shape Variations in the Crania of Modern Japanese

Abstract

We analyzed the morphological variability of the cranial shape among the modern Japanese population using landmark-based geometric morphometrics. The sample comprised 56 cranial specimens of the modern Japanese population (23 female and 33 male) housed at Kyoto University. Computed tomography images of the crania were created and virtual models were generated. Variability in cranial shape was examined using a geometric morphometric technique based on a total of 161 anatomical and semi-sliding landmarks distributed across the entire cranial surface. Semi-landmarks were defined on the neurocranium using equally-spaced points along the shortest paths connecting pairs of landmarks. The results show that the most noticeable shape variance observed in the modern Japanese crania is the brachycephalic/dolichocephalic tendency. Multivariate analyses of variance indicate that significant sexual differences exist in the cranial morphology among the modern Japanese population.