Tracing craniovascular traits in artificially modified pre‐Columbian crania from Cuba, the largest Caribbean archipelago

Abstract

The impressions left by the vascular system on the surface of the skull, like those of the middle meningeal vessels, the dural venous sinuses, and the emissary veins, are a unique source of vascular and anatomical evidence when working with osteological collections, as is the case with bioarchaeological, forensic, and paleoanthropological investigations. Craniovascular features have been investigated in multiple modern human populations; however, no information is available on their analysis in artificially modified pre‐Hispanic Caribbean skulls. To shed light on this matter, this report provides a reference for the prevalence, characterization, and distribution of craniovascular traits using a collection of fronto‐occipital tabular oblique artificially shaped pre‐Columbian crania from Cuba (the largest archipelago in the Caribbean) as a case study. Results suggest that changes produced by intentional head‐shaping may have affected the pattern and direction of endocranial vascular structures, whereas emissary foramina placed in less‐affected areas appear to be less influenced by changes in cranial morphology. Future work will investigate the consequences of artificial modification on the cranial and endocranial vascular systems and compare them with unmodified pre‐Columbian specimens. Also, the effects of head shaping in endocranial thermoregulation should be explored in the future. Providing new knowledge about the prevalence and variation of the craniovascular traits may be useful not only in research based on osteoarcheological collections but also in medicine.

Craniovascular variation in four late Holocene human samples from southern South America

“…In the present study, we found only minor differences between the skulls with and without ACM in craniovascular morphology relating to the sizes of cranial foramina (slightly smaller in skulls with ACM, especially the mastoid foramina). When comparing the current results with other studies (Dean, 1995;O'Loughlin, 1996;Ossenberg, 1970;Rangel-de L azaro, 2021), the different outcomes are not likely to be due to the different statistical power. Our sample size (N = 24) is, in fact, similar to or larger than the sample sizes of the former studies (Ossenberg, 1970: N = 29;Dean, 1995: N = 6;O'Loughlin, 1996: N = 17;Rangel-de L azaro, 2021: N = 8).…”

“…When comparing the current results with other studies (Dean, 1995;O'Loughlin, 1996;Ossenberg, 1970;Rangel-de L azaro, 2021), the different outcomes are not likely to be due to the different statistical power. Our sample size (N = 24) is, in fact, similar to or larger than the sample sizes of the former studies (Ossenberg, 1970: N = 29;Dean, 1995: N = 6;O'Loughlin, 1996: N = 17;Rangel-de L azaro, 2021: N = 8). The different results may be due to several factors, both genetic and epigenetic, possibly associated with diverse cultural practices of ACM.…”

“…Our results provide further evidence for a weak association between the cranial size and morphology of craniovascular features, as previously documented in anatomically normal individuals (Bruner et al, 2009; Eisová et al, 2019). Nevertheless, it was also observed that the craniovascular morphology changes under more extreme cases of cranial deformation, such as craniosynostoses (Eisová et al, 2021) and ACM (Dean, 1995; O'Loughlin, 1996; Ossenberg, 1970; Rangel‐de Lázaro, 2021). The dysmorphogenesis associated with craniosynostoses seems to influence the topological orientation and course of the middle meningeal artery and diploic veins when the growth follows trajectories of least resistance, and further the morphology of emissary veins and dural venous sinuses can change according to functional demands related to the increased intracranial pressure (Eisová et al, 2021).…”

“…Previous analyses of craniovascular features have shown that the anatomy and morphology of the vascular network vary among modern humans and extinct human species, probably due to both functional and genetic factors (Bruner & Sherkat, 2008; Eisová et al, 2019; Grimaud‐Hervé, 1997; Saban, 1996). Intra‐ and inter‐population differences in the middle meningeal vessels, the dural venous sinuses and the emissary veins seem in anatomically normal individuals to be unrelated to cranial form (Eisová et al, 2019) and shape (Bruner et al, 2009), but that changes in more extensive cranial malformations, such as craniosynostosis or artificial cranial modification (Burrows et al, 2001; Dean, 1995; Eisová et al, 2021; Mooney et al, 1998; O'Loughlin, 1996; Rangel‐de Lázaro, 2021). Artificial cranial modification (ACM) was a common cultural practice in different areas of South America, especially in the Andes and Patagonia.…”

Shedding light on pre-Columbian crania collections through state-of-the-art 3D scanning techniques

“…One of these institutions was the Anthropological Museum Montané, founded on June 29, 1903, in Havana, Cuba (Rangel Rivero, 2012. Since then, the Museum Montané has become an essential institution for anthropological and archaeological research in the region (Dacal Moure & Rivero de la Calle, 1986;Dacal Moure & Watters, 2005;Rangel-de Lázaro, 2020). The collections held by the Museum Montané are the result of more than a century of continuous work of professionals, antiquarians, and amateurs.…”