Male Skull & Female Skull (Part 2: Cranium)

Here are additional answers to Question 2 ! :) 

If you have forgotten what the question was again, here it is.

"QUESTION 2

Is a male human skull different from that of a female? If yes, how?"

Cranial vault differences between male & female:

Hello there, welcome back!

Ever wondered why is it easy to differentiate a man and a woman on first sight? What sets us apart from the other gender based on ONLY our skull? Here, you will be taken on a journey to detect the detectable differences in what we call, the cranial vault part of the human skull. 

In the below picture, you can roughly see the obvious differences between the two.

(picture adapted from: http://www.skullgallery.com/servlet/the-43/human-skull-adult-collection/Detail)

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This cranial vault is basically the bony “cap” part of the skull. It includes frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal bones, and the greater wings of the sphenoid bone.

Picture adapted from : 

https://www2.aofoundation.org/wps/portal/!ut/p/c0/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3hng7

BARydDRwN3QwMDA08zTzdvvxBjIwN_I_2CbEdFADiM_QM!/?segment=Cranium&bone=CMF&classification=93-Cranial%20vault%2C%20Cranial%20vault%20fractures&teaserTitle=&showPage=diagnosis&contentUrl=/srg/93/01-Diagnosis/cranial_vault-cranial_vault.jsp)

As seen in the picture, are the labelled parts as mentioned (in the red boxes).

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And now, you can see the picture below showing how the male skulls are generally larger than female skulls. 

They have a sloping or receding forehead. Whereas, a female skull can be identified due to the smaller size, vertical forehead, smoother surface, more slender, and it also retains the frontal and parietal bossing (slight bony bump on frontal & parietal bones).

(picture adapted from: http://www.wku.edu/~darlene.applegate/forensic/lab10/lab10.html)                                                                

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Still not convinced enough? Need more evidence? Well, there are a couple other characters to look out for. One of them, is the bony elevated surfaces found on cranial vault which is known as muscle ridges, where muscles of the skull are attached to. These ridges are usually larger in males. Some examples are temporal lines and nuchal lines at the temporal bone and occipital bone respectively.

Temporal lines on Britney’s bald head are quite obvious. Try looking for temporal lines on people with bald heads and see if you can find them. But, shhhhhh...do be discreet though, since they might get offended...

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Next up in the list, is the bony prominence known as mastoid process. It’s situated somewhere behind your ears, at the base of your skull. Easily found if you put 1 or 2 fingers behind your ear. In males, mastoid process is larger and blunter while in females, it is smaller, and more pointed. 

(picture adapted from: http://picktonfile.wikispaces.com/Forensic+Anthropology)

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Besides that, there are a few mucous-lined air cavities in some parts of the skull bone. These cavities are better known as sinuses. One of it is known as frontal sinus, which is found to be larger in males than females.

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And here would be the last, but not least of the differences seen in a cranial vault of male and female skulls.

In the above picture, you can find the EOP at the back of the head on the occipital bone. This EOP (external occipital protuberance aka inion) may appear more prominent in males compared to females (to the point of appearing hook shaped sometimes).

References:

http://facultypages.morris.umn.edu/~cholledl/anth2101/sex_estimation.pdf