Like I need a hole in the head: supernumerary external auditory meatus in a Carthaginian cranium

Cranial anomalies vary in degree of expression. Although some are nominal i.e. slight in expression, other anomalies are quite striking in appearance. Such is the case in a cranium recovered from the archaeological site of Carthage in Tunisia. Based on observations during ongoing research by the second author, this specimen was seen to exhibit a twinned right external auditory meatus. Possible explanations for the presence of this anomaly are explored. Trauma and perhaps disease can likely be excluded; congenital or epigenetic variation is more of a probable cause. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.