Haijun Li; Shaodi Zhang; Peiyuan Zhang; Xiaoyu Yang; Cheng Zhou; Adilijiang Waili; Huimin Chen; Hailong Zhang; Bo Wang & Xiaoyong Xiao

Within the current body of literature, the study of cranial growth and development in ancient children populations has received limited attention. The purpose of this study is to address this research gap by examining 36 children's skulls, excavated from the Zaghunluq cemetery in Xinjiang, as the primary research material. By analyzing the differences in the external surface areas of various parts of the skulls across diverse age groups, the study aims to explore the characteristics and patterns of skull growth and development among ancient children in Xinjiang. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant differences in the surface areas of the zygomatic, temporal, frontal, occipital, parietal, and cranial bones among six age groups (2 years old, 3-5 years old, 6-7 years old, 8-10 years old, 12-15 years old, and 17-19 years old), while the surface area of the parietal bones showed no significant difference. This study found that the surface area of the zygomatic bone experienced rapid growth during the ages of 8-10 and 12-15. Likewise, the temporal bones exhibited a remarkable surge in surface area within the age range of 3-5. This early-stage rapid growth was then followed by a significant expansion of the occipital bone surface area when the children reached ages 6-7. As for the parietal bones, a significant increase in surface area was observed at both ages 3-5 and 8-10. Additionally, the frontal bone showcased a notable increase in surface area, specifically between the ages of 8-10. This period of growth also coincided with a primary phase of skull expansion, suggesting ages 8-10 represented a growth spurt in the surface area of the cranial bones among Zaghunluq children. Based on the observed variations in growth spurts in the surface area of different skull regions, the findings showed that the growth and development of Zaghunluq children's skulls predominantly occurred during the ages of 8-10, potentially indicating the onset of their adolescence during this period. Moreover, during the transition from childhood to adolescence, the skull might undergo a temporary slow growth.

KEY WORDS: Xinjiang; Zaghunluq Cemetery; Ancient children populations; Skull surface area; Skull growth patterns; Growth spurts.

LI, H.; ZHANG, S.; ZHANG, P.; YANG, X.; ZHOU, C.; WAILI, A.; CHEN, H.; ZHANG, H.; WANG, B. & XIAO, X. Changes in the skull surface area with age among ancient children in Xinjiang, China. Int. J. Morphol., 43(6):1883-1896, 2025.