The anthropomorphology of classical skulls from Malta

Abstract

A series of human skulls dated by archaeological context to the Classical age are studied anthropomorphologically and compared to previous studies of Maltese skulls from several other historical periods. The cranial indices of the St. Agatha population was shown to have no statistical differences from indices of skulls pertaining to the Early Modern Period, but were significantly different from the Prehistoric skull indices. The Prehistoric skulls were shown to be generally dolichocephalic, while the Classical and post-Classical skulls were mesocephalic. There were however statistically significant differences between the facial indices of the Classical skulls when compared to the Early Modern skulls, with the Classical skulls showing narrow and slightly longer facial structure. Two skulls showing the congenital variation of persistence of the metopic suture are described and discussed.