The study of hyperostosic variants: significance of hyperostotic variants of human skulls in anthropology

Minor variations in the ossicles, foramina and ridges of the cranium have aroused the curiosity of anatomists for many decades. These non-metric variants help us to study the genetic relationships among ancient populations. Since these traits show considerable frequency differences in different populations, they can be used as anthropological characters in epidemiological studies. These variants indirectly reflect the part of underlying genotype of a given population thus implying their usefulness in biological comparisons of related groups. They can be used for the assessment of the existence of the parental structures within a community or as taxonomic indicators. For anthropological studies, the traits should be genetically determined, vary in frequency between different populations and should not show age, sex, and side dependency. The present study was conducted on hundred dry adult human skulls from Northern India. They were sexed and studied for the presence of hyperostotic traits (double hypoglossal canal, jugular foramen bridging, and paracondylar process). Sexual and side dimorphism was observed. None of the traits had shown statistically significant side and sexual dimorphism. Since the dimorphism is exhibited by none of them, it can be postulated that these traits are predominantly under genetic control and can be effectively used for population studies.