Craniotopography

/ˌkreɪniəʊtəˈpɒɡrəfi/ noun

Definition

A detailed description or mapping of the shape and features of the skull.

Etymology

From cranio- (skull, from Greek kranion) + topography (description of places, from Greek topos 'place' + graphia 'writing'). The term combines anatomical study with geographical mapping techniques to document skull structure.

Kelly Says

Phrenologists in the 1800s used craniotopography to try to read personality from skull bumps—a pseudoscience that was completely wrong, but it did push anatomists to develop better ways of measuring and mapping human variation.

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