Cradleboarding was practiced by numerous prehistoric and historic popu
lations, including the Hopi. In this group, one result of cradleboardi
ng was bilateral or asymmetric flattening of the posterior occipital.
We test whether cradleboarding had significant effects on the morpholo
gy of the cranial vault, cranial base, and face. Additionally, we exam
ine associations between direction of flattening and asymmetric cranio
facial growth. A skeletal sample of Hopi from the Old Walpi site inclu
des both nonmodified (N = 43) and modified individuals (N = 39). Three
-dimensional coordinates of 53 landmarks were obtained using a diagrap
h. Thirty-six landmarks were used to define nine finite elements in th
e cranial vault, cranial base, and face. Finite element scaling was us
ed to compare average nonmodified individuals, with averages of bilate
rally, right, and left modified individuals. The significance of varia
tion among ''treatment'' groups was evaluated using a bootstrap test.
Pearson product-moment correlations test the association of asymmetry
with direction of modification. Hopi cradleboarding has a significant
effect on growth of the cranial vault, but does not affect morphology
of the cranial base or face. Bilateral flattening of the cranial vault
leads to decreased length and increased width of the cranial vault. F
lattening of the right or left cranial vault results in ipsilaterally
decreased length and width coupled with a corresponding increased leng
th and width on the contralateral side of the cranial vault. There is
a significant correlation of size asymmetry with direction of modifica
tion in the cranial vault, but not with size or shape change in the cr
anial base or face. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.