THE RESTORED SHANIDAR I SKULL—STEWART 475 
some postmortem warping. The extent to which the latter factor has 
influenced the shape is best seen as an enlargement of the left side in 
the views of the top and base. This asymmetry results from certain 
parts on the left side failing to meet and leaving gaps. Except in the 
left zygomatic arch, the gaps are no longer apparent, because they have 
been filled in to give more rigidity to the specimen. 
Not only are there gaps on the left side but there are large areas on 
this side where the bone has been lost entirely or, if present, cannot 
be accurately placed. One such area in the posterior left parietal has 
been left open intentionally so that the inside of the skull can be in- 
spected. Anyone looking through this hole in the actual specimen 
sees that even more of the inside surface has had to be restored. The 
explanation is that ancient cranial bone tends to split through the 
diplé6e, or porous middle layer, and thereupon the inner table crum- 
bles. Thus I found some sections of the vault to consist only of outer 
table, 1 to 2mm. thick. Such sections had to be reinforced on the endo- 
cranial side. 
In reinforcing weakened bone and in filling in areas where the bone 
was missing I used a commercial “crack filler” (trade name: Savo- 
gran). This substance comes in the form of a powder and is mixed 
with water to the desired consistency. It has the advantage of being 
readily moulded into the prescribed shape, of setting fairly rapidly, of 
not shrinking, of becoming quite hard, and of turning a light brown 
color to give a nice contrast with the stained bone. Also, it is not 
affected by the ordinary laboratory chemicals and therefore can be 
varnished for protection against moisture. Where deemed desirable, 
reinforcing wires have been embedded in the filler. TI mention all this 
just in case it should be necessary in the future to remove or restore 
the filled-in areas of this specimen. 
In contrast to the very incomplete left side, the right side is essen- 
tially complete, except superiorly. Therefore, it was natural at the 
outset of reconstruction to assemble the right side from the many pieces 
into which it had been broken. By making the joints between these 
pieces fit tight, the original form of the skull, or what was assumed to 
be the original form, emerged. Necessarily, the restored areas, espe- 
cially of the left side, largely depend on the right side. If there are 
inaccuracies in the joining of the component parts of the right side, or 
if warping has affected the right side, the gaps on the left side are 
probably the result. Owing to the fragility of the bone, the refitting 
of joints had to be kept to a minimum. 
The top of the skull presented a special problem. The whole of this 
area from the middle of the frontal bone to the lambdoid suture (be- 
tween the occipital and parietal bones) depends for its shape and 
elevation on one large fragment hinged at a narrow joint on the right 
side anteriorly. The word “hinge” graphically describes this type of 
