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'Cranial capacity' is a measure of the volume of the interior of the cranium (also called the braincase or brainpan) of those vertebrates who have both a cranium and a brain. The most commonly used unit of measure is the cubic centimetre or cc. The volume of the cranium is used as a rough indicator of the size of the brain, and this in turn is used as a rough indicator of the potential intelligence of the organism. However, larger cranial capacity is not always indicative of a more intelligent organism, since larger capacities are required for controlling larger more muscular bodies, or in some cases are an adaptive feature for life in a colder environment.
Examples of cranial capacity:

★ Orangutans: 275–500 cc

★ Chimpanzees: 275–500 cc

★ Gorillas: 340–752 cc

★ Humans: 1100–1700 cc

★ Neanderthals: 1200–1700 cc
Examples of early hominids:

'Taxon'	'Size (cc)'	'# of Specimens'	'Age (MYA)'
Australopithecus afarensis	438	4	3.6–2.9
Australopithecus africanus	452	7	3.0–2.4
Australopithecus boisei	521	1	2.3–1.4
Australopithecus robustus	530	1	1.9–1.4
Homo habilis	612	6	1.9–1.6
Homo rudolfensis	752	1	2.4–1.6
Homo ergaster	871	3	1.9–1.7

Contents

See also

Reference

See also

★ Brain to body mass ratio

★ Craniometry

★ Human evolution

★ Neuroscience and intelligence

Reference

★ The Primate Fossil Record, , Henry M., McHenry, Cambridge University Press, , 0521663156

★ Race Differences in Intelligence: An Evolutionary Analysis, Lynn, R., , , , 2006, ISBN 1-59368-021-X