The Presence of a Persistent Mendosal Suture in an Ancient Adult Human Cranium from India

Abstract

The presence of mendosal sutures is mostly known from fetuses, neonates, and infants and is discussed in medical circles as an osteological condition. However, its presence in an adult human skull, in the archaeological context, has been rarely reported. Here, we report the discovery of a vivid, well-defined persistent mendosal suture in a middle-aged male human cranium excavated from the site of Kumhar Tekri in central India. The site dates from the third and second centuries BCE and was largely a burial mound consisting of skeletal remains and other grave goods. The left side of the cranium was largely missing and has since been reconstructed. The mendosal suture appears to be present above the superior nuchal line, originates above the asterion on both sides, and traverses across the occiput, thus creating a distinct and large mendosal bone between it and the lambdoidal suture. There appear to be no major morphological changes to the cranium due to the presence of the mendosal suture, except for a small curvature of the occiput. This finding is significant as no such case of a mendosal suture is unprecedented in archaeological and paleopathological research. Similarly, a persistent mendosal suture may be used in forensic identification and age estimation. Further research on such cranial sutures is vital.