Many aspects of human biology can be reconstructed from skeletal and fossil remains. The endocranial vasculature runs through cerebral, connective, and bone elements, where it is influenced by the functional and structural relationships among these different components of the endocranial system. The imprints and traces of these vessels can be used to analyze the craniovascular features of extinct species or historical samples. These traits can supply information about evolutionary adaptation, the mutual relationships between and within populations, and individual life history. In particular, bioarchaeology considers individual morphological variants as indicators of temporal and spatial relatedness and population structure, whereas paleoanthropology studies functional aspects to consider evolutionary changes and phylogenetic processes. Forensic science can investigate the cause of death associated with craniovascular pathologies by relying on morphological variations for individual identification. In this review, we consider the imprints of middle meningeal vessels, dural venous sinuses, emissary veins, and diploic veins. We summarize the most relevant morphological and functional information about craniovascular features and their applications in retrospective anthropological and medical fields, as well as describing the methodological issues associated with the sampling and quantitative evaluation of these elusive vascular remnants imprinted in the cranial bones.

中文翻译：

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人类学和进化中的颅血管特征：从骨骼到血管。

人类生物学的许多方面都可以从骨骼和化石的遗迹中重建。颅内血管系统贯穿大脑，结缔组织和骨骼元素，并受到颅内系统这些不同组成部分之间功能和结构关系的影响。这些血管的印记和痕迹可用于分析已灭绝物种或历史样本的颅脑血管特征。这些特征可以提供有关进化适应，种群之间和种群内部的相互关系以及个人生活史的信息。特别是，生物考古学将个体形态变异视为时间和空间相关性以及种群结构的指标，而古人类学则研究功能方面来考虑进化变化和系统发育过程。法医科学可以依靠形态变异来进行个体识别，从而调查与颅脑血管病理学相关的死亡原因。在这篇综述中，我们考虑了中脑膜血管，硬脑膜静脉窦，使静脉和外交静脉的印记。我们总结了有关颅脑血管特征及其在回顾性人类学和医学领域中的应用的最相关的形态学和功能信息，并描述了与这些印迹在颅骨中的血管残留物的采样和定量评估相关的方法学问题。我们考虑了脑膜中段血管，硬脑膜静脉窦，使静脉和外交静脉的印记。我们总结了有关颅脑血管特征及其在回顾性人类学和医学领域中的应用的最相关的形态学和功能信息，并描述了与这些印迹在颅骨中的血管残留物的采样和定量评估相关的方法学问题。我们考虑了脑膜中段血管，硬脑膜静脉窦，使静脉和外交静脉的印记。我们总结了有关颅脑血管特征及其在回顾性人类学和医学领域中的应用的最相关的形态学和功能信息，并描述了与这些印迹在颅骨中的血管残留物的采样和定量评估相关的方法学问题。