Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 4, 2025
Author Spotlight: Streamlined Brain and Skull Modeling for Enhanced Neurosurgical Planning in NHP Research
Published on: February 9, 2024
Are There Differences in the Cranial Base of Humans and Apes?
Michael S Benninger1, Kaylin E Benninger1, Timothy Haffey2
1Head and Neck Institute, The Cleveland Clinic.
Purpose:
Differences in skull-base angles between humans, other hominid species and apes might account for the ability of humans to develop complex speech. This study compared midline skull base angles, and angles related to insertion of skull base musculature between these species.
Methods:
126 human adult, 29 adolescent, 19 children, and 13 fetus skulls were compared to 32 ape and a subset of non-human antiquity hominid casts of skulls (13). Cranial base measurements were taken using an eMicroscribe 3d G2 digitizer. Midline and muscle insertion measurements were obtained.
Results:
There were statistical differences in both the midline angles of the skull base (humans, 119o; apes, 130o) and in the Skull base angles related to points of muscle insertion (humans, 113o; apes, 124o), with humans exhibiting a more acute angle than the apes and other non-human hominids. There were no differences between human adults and children CONCLUSION: Acute angle differentiation of the midline skull base between humans and apes was confirmed with an alternate measurement method. Whether these angular differences are the primary reason for the lower position of the larynx in humans and the potential for more complex speech is still in debate.
More Related Videos
10:23Author Spotlight: Three-Dimensional Cephalometric Landmark Annotation Demonstration on Human Cone Beam Computed Tomography Scans
Published on: September 8, 2023
08:15Reverse Dissection and DiceCT Reveal Otherwise Hidden Data in the Evolution of the Primate Face
Published on: January 7, 2019
Related Concept Videos
01:14Cranial Bones: Superior and Posterior View
The frontal bone is the single bone that forms the forehead. At its anterior midline, between the eyebrows, there is a slight depression called the glabella. The frontal bone also forms the supraorbital margin of the orbit. Near the middle of this margin is the supraorbital foramen, the opening that provides passage for a sensory nerve to the forehead. The frontal bone is thickened just above each supraorbital margin,...
01:08Overview of the Skull
The cranial vault surrounds and protects the brain and houses the middle and inner ear structures. This cavity is bounded superiorly by the rounded top of the skull, which...
01:27Cranial Bones: Lateral View
The temporal bone forms the lower lateral side of the skull. The temporal bone is subdivided into several regions. The flattened upper portion is the squamous portion of the temporal bone. Below this area and projecting anteriorly is the zygomatic process of the temporal bone, which forms the posterior portion of the zygomatic arch. Posteriorly is the mastoid portion of the temporal bone. Projecting...
01:22Sutures of the Skull
Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
02:31Synteny and Evolution
Around 80 million years ago, the human and mice lineages diverged from the common ancestor. During the course of evolution, the ancestral...
01:26Cerebrum: Anatomical Overview I