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First of all, the Occiput itself: there are three types of Occiput, a rounded Occiput, a rounded Occiput with Occipital Bun, and a Flattened Occiput.
A potential explanation for why Occipital Buns, and by extension Flat-Occiputs, would develop: "A study conducted by Lieberman, Pearson and Mowbray provides evidence that individuals with narrow heads (dolicocephalic) or narrow cranial bases and relatively large brains are more likely to have occipital buns as a means of resolving a spatial packing problem.[1]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occipital_bun
Theoretically then, the wider your face is, the higher chance it has to develop a flattened occiput, but I'm not sure if that's how it actually works out to in practice, because Mongolians for instance have high rates of brachycephaly but I don't think they have high rates of Flat-Occiput
What about the regions where Flat-Occiput is found? The classic sources state that it's highest in southern Dinaric range, but also in the Caucasus and Armenia.
But there is plenty of Flat-Occiput in Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, and to lesser extent Britain and Germany
Sloped-Forehead, a trait commonly partnered with Dinarization/Armenization, is most likely a remnant of Neanderthal admixture, but Neanderthals didn't have flat occiputs; they had an occipital bun, but their extremely large necks gave the appearance that they had a pseudo-flattened-occiput:
@12:50
Modern neanderthal-like, with sloped forehead and pseudo-flat-occiput:
another:
another extremely-wide neck neanderthal remnant:
Some Alpinized/Nordized Dinarids:
So what then, are we to assume is the true reason for spreading of "Dinarized" flat occiput?
From what I have seen, there is little literature on this subject, but there is one theory I found, which is that Flat-Occiput spread from the southeast Dinaric range via the Baden culture:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baden_culture
But, could it have spread to Dinaric range from the Yamnaya if its original source was in the Caucasus? I.e., was Flat-Occiput originally a Cacausus-Hunter-Gatherer phenomenon? Have there been any studies on skull morphology of CHG?
My other question though, is have there been any studies on which other areas of the world have high rates of Flat-Occiput, with specific percentages? From what I have gathered over the years, it is not common at all among Mongoloid populations, neither among Native American populations, nor African populations, nor Indid populations.
Would appreciate any pushes in the right direction, any classical or modern sources (and of course we must be careful not to mistake neanderthal-like admixture with Flat-Occiput)
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