182 CHAPTER 8 | Early Homo and the Origins of Culture
Figure 8.4 Cranial capacity in Homo erectus increased
over time, as illustrated by these bar graphs, shown in cubic
centimeters. The cranial capacity of late Homo erectus overlaps
with the range seen in live humans.
LaterHomo5 4 3 2 1 0600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400LateH. erectus5 4 3 2 1 0600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400MiddleH. erectus5 4 3 2 1 0600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400EarlyH. erectus5 4 3 2 1 0600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400Cranial CapacityEast Africa (752 cc) and the 1,000 to 2,000 cc range (average
1,300 cc) for modern human skulls (Figure 8.4).
The cranium itself has a low vault (height of the dome
of the skull top), and the head is long and narrow. When
viewed from behind, its width is greater than its height,
with its greatest width at the base. The skulls of modern hu-
mans when similarly viewed are higher than they are wide,
with the widest dimension in the region above the ears.
The shape of the inside of H. erectus’ braincase shows near-
modern development of the brain, especially in the speech
area. Although some anthropologists argue that the vocal
apparatus was not adequate for speech, others claim that
asymmetries of the brain suggest the same pattern of right-
handedness with left cerebral dominance that, in modern
peoples, is correlated with the capacity for language.^4
H. erectus possessed massive brow ridges (Figure 8.5).
When viewed from above, a marked constriction or
(^4) Holloway, R. L. (1981). The Indonesian Homo erectus brain endocasts
revisited. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 55, 521.
FRONT VIEW
Supraorbital torus
(brow ridge)
Large face
TOP VIEW
SIDE VIEW
REAR VIEW
Brow ridge
Brow ridge
Thick
cranial bone
Nuchal torus
Low forehead
Sagittal ridge
Nuchal
torus
Postorbital
constriction
Figure 8.5 The skull of Homo erectus.