Variation of the cranial capacity of current humans

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Model of Homo erectus at Westphalian Museum of Archaeology (Westfälisches Museum für Archäologie). Herne, Germany.

The variation of the cranial capacity of current humans is relevant information for those interested in the debates about human evolution. It is normal to be presented to the reader the average capacity of each species. For example, the average capacity of Homo sapiens is around 1,350 c.c. However, variation is another important piece of information, since if we have a large variation, then other species of the genus Homo appear included within the variation of Homo Sapiens.

Variation range

Statements about the variation of cranial capacity in modern humans show variation, but in general, it is observed that this variation is very large. According to Ralph Holloway "The range of variation of cranial capacity for modern Homo Sapiens is about 1.000 c.c., with no correlation between capacity and behaviour readly demonstrable."[1] Shara E. Bailey agrees with this variation in noting that "on average, the cranial capacity of Homo erectus was about 900 c.c., although its range (750 c.c.–1250 c.c.) overlaps that of modern humans (1000 c.c.–2000 c.c.)" that is, the same variation of 1,000 c.c.[2] Greg Beasley reports an even greater range (minimum 1200 c.c.) with capacity ranging from 800 to 2000 c.c.[3] Doctor David Menton states that "the size of the normal adult human brain varies by almost three times"[4]. Beasley cites several proposed ranges in his article that have been included in the box below.

Author Minimum range Maximum range Reference
Donald Johanson 1.000 c.c. 1.800 c.c. Johanson, D. C., and Edey, M. A., 1981. LUCY: The Beginnings of Human kind , Granada Publishing (Paladin edition), London. p. 107
Richard Leakey 1.000 c.c. 2.000 c.c. Leakey, R. E. F., 1981. The Making of Mankind, Michael Joseph Ltd, London, p. 131.
Lawrence S. Dillon 900 c.c. 2.300 c.c. Dillon, L. S., 1978. Evolution: Concepts and Consequences, C. V. Mosby Com pany, 2nd Edition, St Louis, p. 405.
Ralph L. Holloway et al. 900 grams 2.000 grams[nota 1] Ralph L. Holloway, Douglas C. Broadfield, Michael S. Yuan, Jeffrey H. Schwartz, Ian Tattersall - The Human Fossil Record; Brain Endocasts; The Paleoneurological Evidence, Volume 3-Wiley-Liss, 2004
Shara E. Bailey 1.000 c.c. 2.000 c.c. Encyclopedia of Anthropology[2]
Casey Luskin 700 c.c. 2.200 c.c. Human Origins and Intelligent Design (Less Technical)[5]
Christopher Rupe & Dr. John Sanford 800 c.c. 2.220 c.c. Contested Bones[6]

Cranial capacities greater than 2,000 c.c.

Cranial capacities that are beyond Dillon's provisional range have been documented in scientific journals. According to Greg Beasley there have only been three recorded determinations greater than 2000 c.c. - these being the Russian novelist Turgenev (2,021 c.c.), a United States senator, and a low-IQ person - the latter two being of equal capacity (2,800 cc).[7][8] Stephen Molnar cites two examples of famous men who had their brains weighed and measured with a cranial capacity of approximately 2,200 c.c.: Oliver Cromwell and Lord Byron[9][nota 2].

Lower capacities

At the lower end of the Dillon range are the Wedda Pygmies of Sri Lanka. However, there is an example of an Australian Aboriginal adult with 830 c.c. In none of these cases are these people described in any way as having incompetent or subnormal intellect. More recently, several authorities have suggested lower values for a "cerebral rubicon" (Vallois, 800 c.c.; Robinson, 750 c.c. e Weidenreich, 700 c.c.).[10][nota 3] Javier deFelipe quoting B. G. Wilder presents an example of a normal person with a very small brain, such as the case of Daniel Lyons who died in 1907 at the age of 41. Daniel was a person with no special features, with normal body weight and normal intelligence, although his brain weighed no more than 680 g.[11] According to Rupe and Sanford, Anatole France was the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and his cranial capacity was 933 cm3 - the same size as many Erectus specimens such as the Java man and Turkana boy.[6][12] According to Rupe and Sanford, a man named Daniel Lyon had a cranial capacity of 624 cm3 (680 grams) and worked at the Pennsylvania railroad terminal for 20 years being able to read and write without showing any signs of mental impairment.[13][12]

Large cranial capacities in ancient humans

Two early Late Pleistocene skulls from Lingjing, Xuchang, China, show primitive features of Homo erectus pekinensis, or Peking Man, including low neurocranial dome, smooth and short inward-sloping mastoid neurocranium while sharing ascribed features to Neanderthal man as occipital (suprainac and nuchal torus) and labyrinthine temporal (semicircular canal) morphology. The endocranial volume (ECV) of Xuchang 1, ~1800 cm3, is at the upper end of modern and Neanderthal human variation.[14]

External links

Videos

  • The Unique Origins of Humanity in the Fossil Record - Casey Luskin, PhD .

Notes

  1. ↑ The weight in grams is usually greater than the size in c.c. For example, in men the average weight is around 1370 g and in women around 1200 g. (Harrison, Paul J.; Freemantle, Nick; Geddes, John R. (November 2003). "Meta-analysis of brain weight in schizophrenia". Schizophrenia Research. 64 (1): 25–34.) but the average volume is about 1260  cm3 in men and 1130  cm3 in women.(Cosgrove, Kelly P.; Mazure, Carolyn M.; Staley, Julie K. (October 2007). "Evolving Knowledge of Sex Differences in Brain Structure, Function, and Chemistry". Biological Psychiatry. 62 (8): 847–855.)
  2. ↑ Javier deFelipe further details the weights of these two famous ones stating: "For example, the English poet Lord Byron (1788-1824) seems to have a big brain, not only for the quality witnessed by his writings, but also for his enormous brain, weighing 2,238 kg Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), protector of the Republic of England, also had a brain that weighed between 2,233 and 2,330 kg, while the French writer Anatole France (1844-1924), winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1921, had a brain that only weighed 1,100 kg." in DeFelipe, Javier (may 2011). [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21647212 "The evolution of the brain, the human nature of cortical circuits, and intellectual creativity"]. Frontiers in Neuroanatomy 5 (29). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21647212. Retrieved 2022-08-24. 
  3. ↑ A "cerebral rubicon" in paleontology is the minimum cranial capacity required for a specimen to be classified as a particular paleospecies or genus.

References

  1. ↑ Holloway Jr., Ralph L. (february 1966). "Cranial Capacity, Neural Reorganization, and Hominid Evolution: A Search for More Suitable Parameters". American Anthropologist (Wiley) 68 (1): 103-121. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bailey, Shara E. (2006). "Homo Erectus". In Birx, H. James. Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. ISBN 0-7619-3029-9. 
  3. ↑ Beasley, Greg (1990). "Pre-Flood Giantism:A Key to the Interpretation of Fossil Hominids and Hominoids". EN Tech. J. 4: 5-55. 
  4. ↑ David Menton (2010-02-25). "Did Humans Really Evolve from Apelike Creatures?". https://answersingenesis.org/human-evolution/ape-man/did-humans-really-evolve-from-apelike-creatures/. Retrieved 2022-08-15. 
  5. ↑ Luskin, Casey. "Human Origins and Intelligent Design (Less Technical)". idea center. http://www.ideacenter.org/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/1146. Retrieved 2022-08-17. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Rupe, Christopher; Sanford, Dr. John (2017). Contested Bones. Canandaigua, NY: Feed My Sheep Foundation - FMS Publications. ISBN 9780981631677. 
  7. ↑ Custance, A. C. (1976). Evolution or Creation? (Volume IV of the Doorway Papers). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House. p. 224. 
  8. ↑ Malcolm Bowden (1977). Ape-Man: Fact or Fallacy?. Bromley, Kent: Sov­ereign Publications. p. 47. 
  9. ↑ Molnar, Stephen (1975). Races, Types, & Ethnic Groups. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-750240-0. 
  10. ↑ Tobias, P. V. (1964). "The Olduvai Bed I hominine with special reference to its cranial capacity". Nature 202: 3–4. 
  11. ↑ DeFelipe, Javier (may 2011). "The evolution of the brain, the human nature of cortical circuits, and intellectual creativity". Frontiers in Neuroanatomy 5 (29). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21647212. Retrieved 2022-08-24. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Skoyles, Dr. John R. (1999). "Human evolution expanded brains to increase expertise capacity, not IQ". Psycoloquy 10 (002). ISSN 1055-0143. http://www.human-existence.com/publications/Skoyles%20Human%20evolution%20expanded%20brains%20expertise%20not%20IQ.pdf. 
  13. ↑ Anderson, Daniel (2007). "Turkana Boy—getting past the propaganda". https://creation.com/turkana-boy-getting-past-the-propaganda. Retrieved 2022-11-09. 
  14. ↑ Zhan-Yang Li; Xiu-Jie Wu; Li-Ping Zhou; Wu Liu; Xing Gao; Xiao-Mei Nian; Trinkaus, Erik (march 3, 2017). "Late Pleistocene archaic human crania from Xuchang, China". Science (355): 969–972. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aal2482. 
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