Lunacephalus
Yep I am lunacephalic - that is I have a big moon head. Its not a clinical condition (I made the name up) but it is just that ones head is outside of what is considered the normal head size range.
Hats don't fit which I can usually avoid but it becomes a real problem during occasions when some kind of headgear is required as Christmas paper party hats and mortarboards (for degree ceremonies) aren't made for people in my size range leading to much embarassment.
So how big is it? 66cm/26 inches putting it beyond the usual size 8 as outlined here:
http://www.brentblack.com/panamahatsizes.html
http://www.shushans.com/sixthpage.html
http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/scales/hatsizes.html
Luckily there are places that can deal with enormous heads like mine e.g.:
http://www.bighatstore.com/static/hat_sizes.php
The science bit
Large head size is part of a suite of adaptations found in more northerly latitudes which also includes short and wide stature and short distal limb proportions. This pattern can not only be seen in modern humans but also our fossil ancestors:
Some further reading:
Crognier, E. (1981) Climate and anthropometric variations in Europe and the Mediterranean area. Annals of Human Biology. 8. 99 - 107.
Holliday, T.W. (1997a) Body proportions in Late Pleistocene Europe and modern human origins. Journal of Human Evolution. 32 (5). 423 - 48.
Holliday, T.W. (1997b) Postcranial evidence of cold adaptation in European Neandertals. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 104 (2). 245 - 58.
Holliday, T.W. (1999) Brachial and crural indices of European Late Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic humans. Journal of Human Evolution. 36 (5). 487 - 515.
Holliday, T.W. & Falsetti, A.B. (1995) Lower limb length of European early modern humans in relation to mobility and climate. Journal of Human Evolution. 29 (2). 141 - 53.
Holliday, T.W. & Trinkaus, E. (1991) Limb/trunk proportions in Neandertals and early anatomically modern humans. American Journal of Physical Anthropology (abstract). Supplement 12. 93 - 4.
Jacobs, K.H. (1985a) Climate and the hominid postcranial skeleton in Würm and early Holocene Europe. Current Anthropology. 26 (?). 512 - 4.
Jacobs, K.H. (1985b) Evolution in the postcranial skeleton of Late Glacial and early Postglacial European hominids. Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie. 75. 307 - 26.
Katzmarzyk, P.T. & Leonard, W.R. (1998) Climatic influences on human body size and proportion: Ecological adaptations and secular trends. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 106 (4). 483 - 503.
Ruff, C.B. (1991) Climate and body shape in hominid evolution. Journal of Human Evolution. 21 (2). 81 - 105.
Ruff, C.B. (1993) Climatic adaptation and hominid evolution: The thermoregulatory imperative. Evolutionary Anthropology. 2 (2). 53 - 60.
Ruff, C.B. (1994) Morphological adaptation to climate in modern and fossil hominids. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. 37. 65 - 107.
Ruff, C.B., Trinkaus, E. & Holliday, T.W. (1997) Body mass and encephalization in Pleistocene Homo. Nature. 387. 173 - 6.
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