CMS 



Figure 5: Interior of the occipital bone of Vertesszollos, Hungary, showing 

 clear impressions for both the cerebral and the cerebellar hemispheres. 



of the calvaria and takes a cast of the little bony canal to which the foramen 

 gives access. Since most of the foramina transmit cranial nerves or their 

 branches, we may even have thus a cast representing one or two of the bigger 

 cranial nerves coming off the brainstem (Figure 6). 



In addition, the sutures or linear joints between 2 adjacent vault-bones 

 —such as the coronal suture between the frontal and parietal bones, the 

 sagittal suture between the left and the right parietal bones and the lamb- 

 doid suture between the parietal bones and the occipital— generally leave a 

 clear imprint on the endocast, if by the time of the individual's death these 

 sutures had not begun to fuse (Figure 7). 



Once formed and consolidated, an endocranial cast is a tough and 

 durable structure. Often it may outlast damage to, or loss of, the surround- 



% 6 



