Craniometry

Craniometry is measurement of the cranium (the main part of the skull), usually the human cranium. It is a subset of cephalometry, measurement of the head, which in humans is a subset of anthropometry, measurement of the human body. It is distinct from phrenology, the pseudoscience that tried to link personality and character to head shape, and physiognomy, which tried the same for facial features. However, these fields have all claimed the ability to predict traits or intelligence. Craniometry is measurement of the cranium (the main part of the skull), usually the human cranium. It is a subset of cephalometry, measurement of the head, which in humans is a subset of anthropometry, measurement of the human body. It is distinct from phrenology, the pseudoscience that tried to link personality and character to head shape, and physiognomy, which tried the same for facial features. However, these fields have all claimed the ability to predict traits or intelligence. They were once intensively practised in anthropology, in particular in physical anthropology in the 19th and the first part of the 20th century. Theories attempting to scientifically justify the segregation of society based on race became popular at this time, one of their prominent figures being Georges Vacher de Lapouge (1854–1936), who divided humanity into various, hierarchized, different 'races', spanning from the 'Aryan white race, dolichocephalic' (from the Ancient Greek kephalê, head, and dolikhos, long and thin), to the 'brachycephalic' (short and broad-headed) race. On the other hand, craniometry was also used as evidence against the existence of a 'Nordic race' and also by Franz Boas who used the cephalic index to show the influence of environmental factors. Charles Darwin used craniometry and the study of skeletons to demonstrate his theory of evolution first expressed in On the Origin of Species (1859). More direct measurements involve examinations of brains from corpses, or more recently, imaging techniques such as MRI, which can be used on living persons. Such measurements are used in research on neuroscience and intelligence. Swedish professor of anatomy Anders Retzius (1796–1860) first used the cephalic index in physical anthropology to classify ancient human remains found in Europe. He classified brains into three main categories, 'dolichocephalic' (from the Ancient Greek kephalê, head, and dolikhos, long and thin), 'brachycephalic' (short and broad) and 'mesocephalic' (intermediate length and width). These terms were then used by Georges Vacher de Lapouge (1854–1936), one of the pioneers of scientific theories in this area and a theoretician of eugenics, who in L'Aryen et son rôle social (1899 – 'The Aryan and his social role') divided humanity into various, hierarchized, different 'races', spanning from the 'Aryan white race, dolichocephalic', to the 'brachycephalic' 'mediocre and inert' race, best represented by the 'Jew .' Between these, Vacher de Lapouge identified the 'Homo europaeus (Teutonic, Protestant, etc.), the 'Homo alpinus' (Auvergnat, Turkish, etc.), and finally the 'Homo mediterraneus' (Napolitano, Andalus, etc.). 'Homo africanus' (Congo, Florida) was even excluded from the discussion. Vacher de Lapouge became one of the leading inspirations of Nazi anti-semitism and Nazi ideology. His classification was mirrored in William Z. Ripley in The Races of Europe (1899). In 1784, Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, who wrote many comparative anatomy memoirs for the Académie française, published the Mémoire sur les différences de la situation du grand trou occipital dans l’homme et dans les animaux (which translates as Memoir on the Different Positions of the Occipital Foramen in Man and Animals). Six years later, Pieter Camper (1722–1789), distinguished both as an artist and as an anatomist, published some lectures containing an account of his craniometrical methods. These laid the foundation of all subsequent work. Pieter Camper invented the 'facial angle', a measure meant to determine intelligence among various species. According to this technique, a 'facial angle' was formed by drawing two lines: one horizontally from the nostril to the ear; and the other perpendicularly from the advancing part of the upper jawbone to the most prominent part of the forehead.