DOI: 10.5061/dryad.qbzkh18zh
title: Four cranial metrics for OH 83 and 33 other Middle and Late Pleistocene <em>Homo</em> fossils

description: This brief dataset presents the four cranial metrics that are measurable
 for the OH 83 partial cranium (a Middle Pleistocene Homo sapiens fossil
 from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania) alongside the same four metrics for 33 other
 Middle and Late Pleistocene Homo crania. This comparative dataset extends
 the original comparative data presented in Reiner et al. (2017)'s
 initial description of OH 83.
description: # Four cranial metrics for OH 83 and 33 other Middle and Late Pleistocene
 *Homo* fossils Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.qbzkh18zh](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qbzkh18zh) ##
 Description of the data and file structure The linear metric data
 presented here were compiled to provide a revised/updated comparison for
 OH 83, a partial archaic *Homo* cranium from Olduvai Gorge. These four
 metrics are standard craniometrics: **XFB:** Maximum frontal breadth in
 mm. **FMB:** Bifrontal breadth in mm (distance from the lateral edge of
 one orbit to the other). **STB:** Bistephanic breath in mm. **FRC:**
 Frontal chord in mm (distance from the top of the nasal to the top of the
 cranium). **More detailed definitions of these four metrics can be found
 in:** Howells WW. 1973. Cranial Variation in Man. A Study by Multivariate
 Analysis of Patterns of Differences Among Recent Human Populations. Papers
 of the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology, vol. 67, pp. 259.
 Cambridge, Mass.: Peabody Museum. Howells WW. 1989. Skull Shapes and the
 Map. Craniometric Analyses in the Dispersion of Modern Homo. Papers of the
 Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 79, pp. 189. Cambridge,
 Mass.: Peabody Museum. Howells WW. 1995. Who’s Who in Skulls. Ethnic
 Identification of Crania from Measurements. Papers of the Peabody Museum
 of Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 82, pp. 108. Cambridge, Mass.: Peabody
 Museum. ### Files and variables #### File: OH83_comparative_data.txt
 **Description:** This brief dataset includes only four craniometric
 variables for 34 fossil hominins attributed to Middle or Late Pleistocene
 *Homo*, as these are the only four standard craniometrics that are
 available to measure on OH 83. ##### Variables * id_code: The specimen
 number or name. * taxon: Indicates if the specimen is Middle Pleistocene
 Homo (MP Homo), Late Pleistocene Homo (LP Homo), or OH 83.  * XFB: maximum
 frontal breadth in mm * FMB: bifrontal breadth (distance from the lateral
 edge of one orbit to the other) in mm * STB: bistephanic breadth in mm *
 FRC: frontal chord (distance from the top of the nasal to the top of the
 cranium) in mm ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations
 of the data: * n/a Data was derived from the following sources: * Laird,
 M.F., Schroeder, L., Garvin, H.M., Scott, J.E., Dembo, M., Radovčić, D.,
 Musiba, C.M., Ackermann, R.R., Schmid, P., Hawks, J. and Berger, L.R.,
 2017. The skull of Homo naledi. Journal of Human Evolution, 104,
 pp.100-123. * Ni, X., Ji, Q., Wu, W., Shao, Q., Ji, Y., Zhang, C., Liang,
 L., Ge, J., Guo, Z., Li, J. and Li, Q., 2021. Massive cranium from Harbin
 in northeastern China establishes a new Middle Pleistocene human lineage.
 The Innovation, 2(3). * Reiner, W.B., Masao, F., Sholts, S.B., Songita,
 A.V., Stanistreet, I.G., Stollhofen, H., Taylor, R.E., Hlusko, L.J., 2017.
 OH 83: a new early modern human fossil cranium from the Ndutu beds of
 Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 164, 1–13.