?2L. 



CMS 

 Figure 9: Posterior view of well-preserved, undistorted cranium of an 

 australopithecine from Makapansgat (MLD 37/38). This specimen is 

 estimated to have had a cranial capacity of about 480 c.c. 



Whatever tendency towards increased brain size the greater parieto-temporal 

 width [of MLD 37/38] connotes was probably completely offset by the shortening 

 and lowering of the skull so probably the cranial capacity was no greater than 

 that of the Sterkfontein female [Sts 5]. [Dart 1962, p. 126] 



From this comparison, it seemed justified to attribute to the Maka- 

 pansgat specimen the same endocranial capacity as that of Sts 5, namely 

 480 c.c. This value accordingly has been included in my tabulations (Tobias 



!9 6 3. !9 6 7 a . i9 68b )* 



One other Makapansgat specimen, the original parieto-occipital piece 

 (MLD 1), led Dart to estimate for it a capacity of no less than 650 c.c, by 

 analogy with the claims made for the Kromdraai vault. However, it is 

 probable that far too small a proportion of the vault of MLD 1 is preserved 

 for the estimate to be reliable (Figure 10). Furthermore, Robinson showed 



• A "quite provisional" recalculation by Holloway (1970b and personal communication) based on 

 4 cranial measurements and on the thickness of the first-discovered Australopithecus specimen 

 from Makapansgat, MLD 1, yielded a lower value, namely 435 c.c. However, further work 

 clearly needs to be done on the capacity of MLD 37/38. 



^ 18 



