Reconstructing Soft Tissues of Plio-Pleistocene Hominids using Comparative Anatomy of Modern Humans & Great Apes

The aim of facial approximation is to recreate the appearance of an individual from their dry skull. This technique has often been used following the discovery of a new species of ancient hominid, such as those belonging to the Australopithecus or Paranthropus genera. Facial approximations provide a 3D model for these species and provides another means for scientists to understand the morphological differences between and variations among archaic hominids and modern humans. These models, which are often produced three-dimensionally, also help to guide public attention towards biological anthropology and to disseminate scientific facts about human evolution. Unfortunately, sufficient attention has not been paid to the inconsistencies in the depictions presented nor how facial approximation techniques may be affecting the legitimacy of the knowledge disseminated through their use. The primary aim of this thesis was to develop more reliable methods for approximating the facial soft tissues of Plio-Pleistocene hominids. This was accomplished by identifying bone and soft tissue covariation patterns in the head of primates, including modern humans, and applying these relationships to Plio-Pleistocene hominid skulls. The overarching hypothesis for this thesis was that if homogeneity of covariation between soft tissues and its underlying bone can be observed among primate species, including modern humans, then these relationships can be extrapolated to Plio-Pleistocene hominids. Such relationships will improve the biological accuracy of their depictions and reduce the problem of inconsistency currently burdening the practice of ancient hominid facial approximation. In Chapter II, it will be shown how archaic hominid facial approximation, as it had been established before the restorative findings of this thesis, had become a domain of artists, who included various theoretical interpretations of human evolution into the facial approximations they produced without questioning their scientific legitimacy. Chapters III and IV showcase how artistic intuitionism no longer suffices to illustrate the facial appearance of our ancestors. In these chapters, new statistical methods that more reliably approximate the facial soft tissue thicknesses for Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), Bonobos (Pan paniscus), and by extension other Pliocene hominids, such as Australopithecus africanus, are presented. In addition, new methods for predicting nasal protrusions for all African great apes, modern humans, and by extension all ancestors leading to these clades are also presented. Finally, in chapter 5, general thoughts on some lingering complications and the future of the practice of hominid facial approximation are discussed. The original contributions to knowledge contained within this thesis could not have occurred without challenging the status quo. By hypothesising that the facial soft tissues Plio-Pleistocene hominids could be scientifically reconstructed this thesis has made new discoveries that has in-turn encouraged the field to advance into an empirical discipline from one that was predominately an intuitive artistic activity. Thus, this thesis marks the beginning of a new era of evolutionary reconstructions in the field of biological anthropology.

Author dc:creator

• Campbell, Ryan Miles

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Kumaratilake, Jaliya S.
• Henneberg, Maciej
• Marmolejo-Ramos, Fernando

• Facial reconstruction
• Facial approximation
• Biological anthropology

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2440/135915

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.library.adelaide.edu.au:2440/135915