Variation and Characteristics of the Cranial Vault Thickness in the Krapina and Western European Neandertals

The Krapina collection constitutes the largest sample of Neandertal individuals. However, comparisons of these fossils with other Western European Neandertals have been limited because of the fragmentary condition of the Krapina specimens and because gracility and small dimensions of the cranial remains were attributed to phylogeny and to geological age or to a sex/age bias in the composition of the sample. This study focuses on cranial vault thickness to document new evidence on its variation in the Neandertals. The results demonstrate the similarities between Krapina and the Western European Neandertals in thickness of the cranial vault along the mid-sagittal plane. Finally, Neandertals have characteristics that distinguish them from anatomically modern Homo sapiens fossils.