The vermiculate surface pattern of brow ridges in Neandertal and modern crania.
A convoluted surface pattern of ridges and grooves characterizes the frontal torus in adult Neandertal fossils. Modern human skulls rarely have the pattern well developed. It is not observed in postcranial bones, nor in skulls of Neandertal children. This vermiculate bone is resistant to oriented cracking from weathering or fractures. Structural characteristics of the bone give evidence on the problem of the function of hominid brow ridges.
D002508:Cephalometry; D005060:Europe; D005580:Fossils; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D010163:Paleontology