Preface
The brain 'sits' on the structures of the face. Expansion of the maxilla and zygomatic arch allow the prefrontal cortex of the brain to rest inside the upper skull. This is why asians tend to have flatter occipits and wider zygomatic arches.
As the brain grows, if it does not have enough space to expand sideways, then it must grow backwards.
If someone can find any studies related to expansion of the midfacial region and how the brain rests on that then please link them, I haven't been able to find any references from just a couple google searches jfl.
Main point
Atleast from a side viewpoint, an occipit that is too large can signify malformation of the face. This is why mouth breathers are commonly presented with thin foreheads and prominent occipits. Without proper tongue posture and expansion of the maxilla, the growing brain did not have enough room for lateral expansion, and thus the brain grew towards the occipit.
Then there's people like Sean O'pry, who have both well developed cheekbones and a protruded occipit. You can have both like in his case, but these are outlier examples.
A long occipit isn't a bad trait itself, it just indicates that other areas of development have the possibility of being bad. A peacocks feathers have no evolutionary use, but they imply that said peacock had good genetics to find enough food and flee from predators.
The brain 'sits' on the structures of the face. Expansion of the maxilla and zygomatic arch allow the prefrontal cortex of the brain to rest inside the upper skull. This is why asians tend to have flatter occipits and wider zygomatic arches.
As the brain grows, if it does not have enough space to expand sideways, then it must grow backwards.
If someone can find any studies related to expansion of the midfacial region and how the brain rests on that then please link them, I haven't been able to find any references from just a couple google searches jfl.
Main point
Atleast from a side viewpoint, an occipit that is too large can signify malformation of the face. This is why mouth breathers are commonly presented with thin foreheads and prominent occipits. Without proper tongue posture and expansion of the maxilla, the growing brain did not have enough room for lateral expansion, and thus the brain grew towards the occipit.
Then there's people like Sean O'pry, who have both well developed cheekbones and a protruded occipit. You can have both like in his case, but these are outlier examples.
A long occipit isn't a bad trait itself, it just indicates that other areas of development have the possibility of being bad. A peacocks feathers have no evolutionary use, but they imply that said peacock had good genetics to find enough food and flee from predators.
