These photos show individulal bones that form the cranium. From the photos hopefully we can see how each bone "makes" the cranium.

Frontal bone

parietal bone

occipital bone

temporal bone

sphenoid bone

ethmoid bone

Above: Frontal Bone, Frontal view, showing top of eye sockets and nasal cavity

Above: Occipital Bone from the inside. The Foramen Magnum is where the spinal cord passes through; the fossa labeled are where lobes of the brain fit.

Above: Temporal bone, outer right side showing features

Above: Sphenoid bone from the rear, with Parietal (3) and Temporal bones (4, mastoid process) attached. The sphenoid consists of the body of the sphenoid (1), its greater wings (2), the external pterygoid plate (5), and the internal pterygoid place (6). The frontal bone fits on the upper front part of this assembly (distant in the image) and the occipital bone fits on the rear (near in the image). The Ethmoid bone attaches to the front (distant) part of the Sphenoid.

Above: Ethmoid bone showing features

The diagrams above show details of the individual cranial bones. The frontal bone forms the forehead. The occipital bone forms the back of the head. The temporal bone is the part of the cranium around the ears. (The feature called the "temple" is actually a wing of the Sphenoid bone.) The hole above the external auditory process of the temporal bone is where the internal parts of the ear fit and the auditory nerve runs to the brain. The Parietal bone forms much of the side and top of the head. The Sphenoid bone is somewhat like a chassis that holds the other bones together and is at the base of the cranium. The Ethmoid bone is a very light bone that helps to form the nasal and other cavities.

Species: Homo heidelbergensis Age: 125,000 to 300,000 years Date of Discovery: June 17, 1921 Location: Kabwe, Zambia Discovered by: Tom Zwiglaar

This cranium was the first early human fossil to be found in Africa. Miners looking for metal deposits in limestone caves discovered it. The find was later sent to Arthur Smith Woodward, who described the fossil in an article in volume 108 of the journal Nature, and gave it a new species name "Homo rhodesiensis" (Rhodesian Man). Once thought to be less than 40,000 years old, the Kabwe skull (also known as the Broken Hill skull) was used at one time to validate the supposed "primitiveness" of African peoples, demonstrating that while Europeans had evolved to the "level" of Cro-Magnon, African populations still looked essentially like Homo erectus. This assumption was shown to be flawed on many accounts, most crucially in that the date for this site based on the associated animal fossils found is at least 125,000 years old, and is probably significantly older. Some researchers have proposed that Kabwe may be a member of the African population from which all modern humans descended, although this cannot be definitively proven. The braincase profile is low and slopes back from a large supraorbital torus reminiscent of earlier H. erectus specimens. There is also the remnant of a sagittal keel and an occipital torus at the back of the skull, also recalling H. erectus. However, the face is more modern in appearance (less prognathic, flatter) and the brain size of about 1300 cc. is larger than seen in H. erectus. Thus, this cranium preserves many traits that are reminiscent of earlier H. erectus and hints of more modern traits known later in H. sapiens. The cranium shows evidence of disease and wounds that occurred in the lifetime of this individual. Ten of the upper teeth have cavities, and dental abscesses of the upper jaw are clearly visible in the upper photograph (above the right incisor/canine) and the middle photograph (above the first molar). Additionally, a partially healed wound is visible in the bottom two photographs, above and anterior of the hole for the ear. This wound measured roughly a quarter-inch across, and was made by either a piercing instrument or the tooth of a carnivore. Exactly which is unclear

The skull also contains the sinus cavities, which are air-filled cavities lined with respiratory epithelium, which also lines the large airways. The exact functions of the sinuses are debatable; they contribute to lessening the weight of the skull with a minimal reduction in strength, they contribute to resonance of the voice, and assist in the warming and moistening of air drawn in through the nasal cavities.

Development of the skull

The skull is a complex structure; its bones are formed both by intramembranous and endochondral ossification. The bones of the splanchnocranium (face) and the sides and roof of the neurocranium are formed by intramembranous (or dermal) ossification, while the bones supporting the brain (the occipital, sphenoid, temporal, and ethmoid) are largely formed by endochondral ossification.
At birth, the human skull is made up of 404 separate bony elements. As growth occurs, many of these bony elements gradually fuse together into solid bone (for example, the frontal bone). The bones of the roof of the skull are initially separated by regions of dense connective tissue called "cranial sutures". There are five sutures: the frontal suture, sagittal suture, lambdoid suture, coronal suture, and squamosal suture. At birth these regions are fibrous and moveable, necessary for birth and later growth. This growth can put a large amount of tension on the "obstetrical hinge," which is where the squamous and lateral parts of the occipital bone meet. A possible complication of this tension is rupture of the great cerebral vein of Galen. Larger regions of connective tissue where multiple sutures meet are called fontanelles. The six fontanelles are: the anterior fontanelle, the posterior fontanelle, the two sphenoid fontanelles, and the two mastoid fontanelles. As growth and ossification progress, the connective tissue of the fontanelles is invaded and replaced by bone. The posterior fontanelle usually closes by eight weeks, but the anterior fontanelle can remain open up to eighteen months. The anterior fontanelle is located at the junction of the frontal and parietal bones; it is a "soft spot" on a baby's forehead. Careful observation will show that you can count a baby's heart rate by observing his or her pulse pulsing softly through the anterior fontanelle.

Pathology
If the brain is bruised or injured it can be life-threatening. Normally the skull protects the brain from damage through its hard unyieldingness, the skull is one of the most durable substances found in nature. In some cases, however, of head injury, there can be raised intracranial pressure through mechanisms such as a subdural haematoma. In these cases the raised intracranial pressure can cause herniation of the brain out of the foramen magnum ('coning') because there is no space for the brain to expand; this can result in significant brain damage or death unless an urgent operation is performed to relieve the pressure. This is why patients with concussion must be watched extremely carefully.