We review recent research which estimates racial differences in cranial capacity by measuring head dimensions of living persons. We describe errors in published reports, and find that American whites have greater head height than American blacks, but that blacks have greater head length and greater head circumference. Estimates of cranial capacity are determined by racial differences in head shape. Possible relations between head size and measured IQ are so small that they cannot possibly explain black-white differences in IQ. Why, despite this, does ‘scientific’ interest in race differences in cranial capacity persist?
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