Background
The authors report the morphological and neuroimaging findings of an immature human fossil (Cranium 14) diagnosed with left
lambdoid synostosis.
Discussion
The skull was recovered at the Sima de los Huesos site in Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain). Since the human fossil remains from this
site have been dated to a minimum age of 530,000 years, this skull represents the earliest evidence of craniosynostosis occurring
in a hominid. A brief historical review of craniosynostosis and cranial deformation is provided.
Keywords Craniosynostosis - Lambdoid synostosis - Paleopathology - Deformational plagiocephaly - Posterior plagiocephaly - Skull deformation - Human evolution