1. Measuring the dimensions and angles of a bony skull.
2. The scientific measurement of the dimensions of the bones of the skull and face.

Measurementd are taken between craniometric points, a set of standard defined points in terms of which all significant dimensions are thought to be derived.

It applies to measurements of the dead skull as opposed to cephalometry, measurements performed on the living skull.

In the past, craniometry was also used in phrenology, which supposedly determined character, personality traits, and criminality on the basis of the shape of the head and therefor of the skull.

At the turn of the 19th century, Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1822) developed "cranioscopy", a method to determine the personality and development of mental and moral faculties on the basis of the external shape of the skull.