Yesterday, I purchased two Pirates of the Caribbean sets: Isla de Muerta and Captain's Cabin.

Then I noticed.

Some of the heads from both sets had plain hollow studs, instead of a stud with that Y shaped thing inside.

Just wondered if anybody else noticed this and if they know why. I, personally, like the change, as I never understood the Y in the head.

I have both those sets, and only my Skeleton Barbossa has what you are describing. I have no clue as to why. The "y" is there so that the heads have some ventilation to make them easier to remove I believe.

EDIT: I just checked the other 2 sets I got the other day and both minifigs on the Blacksmith Attack have the "Y", but my ADU guy in the Alien Striker set does not have the "Y"

My figs that had it: the long-haired zombie with the red shirt, the skeleton head from Captain's Cabin, and I think my skeleton Barbossa. It was really weird that there were both kinds in one set both times.

Your explanation for the Y makes good sense, and I'm sure that's what they're for. Wonder why they removed them for, then. LEGO sometimes seems to make very strange, choices that aren't good or bad. Weird.

We can mount heads on spears now, it's a good change.

Couldn't you do that with the y kind?

I could try to get an explanation out of my Lego Ambassador friend from CC, AlienCat, but he is in Sri Lanka atm

Hey, I've talked to Aliencat! Nice guy. I'm sure if he can, he'll answer. He was the one who taught me what LUG was a couple years or so ago.

No, I mean multiple heads on the handle of the spear.

The ones I have are solid. My theory of why the "Y" is there makes it even stranger to have them solid. If I were to guess, maybe if has to do with where they were manufactured and it is a flaw.

You mean the "cookie cutter" they use to make the Y wasn't working right? That makes sense.