Cranial capacity

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Cranial capacity is a measure of the volume of the interior of the cranium (also called the braincase or brainpan) of those vertebrates who have both a cranium and a brain. The most commonly used unit of measure is the cubic centimetre or cc. The volume of the cranium is used as a rough indicator of the size of the brain, and this in turn is used as a rough indicator of the potential intelligence of the organism. However, larger cranial capacity is not always indicative of a more intelligent organism, since larger capacities are required for controlling larger more muscular bodies, or in some cases are an adaptive feature for life in a colder environment. The largest human cranium on record belongs to Robert Vollmar, age 21.

Examples of cranial capacity:

• Orangutans: 275–500 cc
• Chimpanzees: 275–500 cc
• Gorillas: 340–752 cc
• Humans: 1100–1700 cc
• Neanderthals: 1200–1700 cc

Examples of early hominids:

Taxon	Size (cc)	# of Specimens	Age (MYA)
Australopithecus afarensis	438	4	3.6–2.9
Australopithecus africanus	452	7	3.0–2.4
Australopithecus boisei	521	1	2.3–1.4
Australopithecus robustus	530	1	1.9–1.4
Homo habilis	612	6	1.9–1.6
Homo rudolfensis	752	1	2.4–1.6
Homo ergaster	871	3	1.9–1.7

References

• McHenry, Henry M. [2002]. "23: Introduction to the fossil record of human ancestry", in Walter C. Hartwig: The Primate Fossil Record (in English). Cambridge University Press, 402. 0521663156. 
• Lynn, R. (2006). Race Differences in Intelligence: An Evolutionary Analysis. ISBN 1-59368-021-X.