Facts About the Human Skull for Kids

Have your parents ever told you that you are hardheaded? While they may have meant that you are stubborn, having a hard head is a good thing. Your skull performs important functions for your body.

Functions

The skull protects the brain and sense organs, and it also helps form the facial features.

Features

The adult human skull is made up of 22 bones. Eight large, flat bones form the cranium, and 14 bones form the face.

Development

The bones in babies' skulls are not yet fused together, which allows the skull to change shape slightly during birth. The bones fuse together around age 2, but the skull continues to grow rapidly until age 7.

Identification

Forensic anthropologists can identify the race, gender and approximate age of a skeleton by measuring the skull.

Mysterious Practice

Trepanation, or removing a piece of the skull, was practiced in ancient and even prehistoric times. The reason is not known, but it may have been a tribal ritual or rudimentary treatment for brain disorders.

References

• Skull Development
• Forensic Anthropologists
• Trepanation

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Photo Credit

Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Sue Clark