Craniovascular traits in anthropology and evolution: from bones to vessels

Many aspects of human biology can be reconstructed from skeletal and fossil remains. The endocranial vasculature runs through cerebral, connective, and bone elements, where it is influenced by the functional and structural relationships among these different components of the endocranial system. The imprints and traces of these vessels can be used to analyze the craniovascular features of extinct species or historical samples. These traits can supply information about evolutionary adaptation, the mutual relationships between and within populations, and individual life history. In particular, bioarchaeology considers individual morphological variants as indicators of temporal and spatial relatedness and population structure, whereas paleoanthropology studies functional aspects to consider evolutionary changes and phylogenetic processes. Forensic science can investigate the cause of death associated with craniovascular pathologies by relying on morphological variations for individual identification. In this review, we consider the imprints of middle meningeal vessels, dural venous sinuses, emissary veins, and diploic veins. We summarize the most relevant morphological and functional information about craniovascular features and their applications in retrospective anthropological and medical fields, as well as describing the methodological issues associated with the sampling and quantitative evaluation of these elusive vascular remnants imprinted in the cranial bones.