Metric variation in the skull

This chapter, and the one that follows, are devoted to morphological variation that can be recorded by measurement (metric variation) in the skull and postcranial skeleton respectively. Cranial morphological variation has multiple causes but there is a sizable genetic component. Because of this, it is a powerful tool to study relationships between populations on a local, regional or global scale. The way in which we can use it to study migrations in earlier times, and the light that this may potentially shed on culture change, especially in the prehistoric past, are discussed.