FROM RACIAL CRANIOMETRY TO GEOMETRIC MORPHOMETRICS: AN EPISTEMOLOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL SHIFT IN PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Grigorescu Cătălin Cicerone, Grigorescu Șerban Maxim, Doriana Agop Forna, Tihan Eusebiu Jean

Abstract

This article examines the profound transition in physical anthropology from 19th-century racial craniometry to contemporary geometric morphometrics (GM). We argue that this shift represents not only a technical advancement but a fundamental epistemological rupture with typological and essentialist approaches to human variation. Through a critical historical analysis, we deconstruct the methodological and ideological foundations of classical craniometry as practiced by Samuel Morton, Paul Broca, and others, highlighting how linear measurements and reductionist indices (e.g., cephalic index) were used to construct and legitimize racial hierarchies. We then demonstrate how GM, with its reliance on three-dimensional landmark data, Procrustes superimposition, and multivariate statistical analysis, provides a superior framework for capturing the continuous, complex, and adaptive nature of cranial form. This paradigm shift enables a move away from classification toward understanding plasticity, function, and population history. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for contemporary anthropology, including forensic practice and the ongoing critique of biological race concepts.

DOI : 10.62610/RJOR.2025.4.17.20