Evaluating the efficiency of isolated calvaria bones shape changes in the identification and differentiation of artificial cranial modification techniques among pre-Hispanic western and central Mesoamerican populations

•In Mesoamerican archaeology, the state of preservation of the bone occasionally limits the possibility of reliably diagnosing and differentiating artificial cranial modifications (ACMs).•Using 3D geometric morphometrics, we quantified the shape differences of calvaria bones in isolation among four groups of individuals with distinct forms of ACMs and a control group of unmodified skulls.•The shape of isolated calvaria bones can be informative for the identification and the characterization of ACM in western and central Mesoamerica.