Comparisons of mid‐facial contour shape throughout early development (918.24)

Abstract

Craniofacial shape is often used as an indicator of ancestry within the field of biological anthropology. It is well known that adults portray geographical variation in the shape and relative size of dimensions in the face, but little is known about the degree to which biological and environmental factors affect development in craniofacial shape. That is, are the traits that researchers use to identify human groups evident early in life, and what factors might influence these dimensions? One method for ascertaining the developmental patterns that produce craniofacial variation is to assess the morphological integration of the mid‐face. While previous research has investigated the integration of the mid‐face region in adults, the patterns of mid‐face integration from an ontogenetic perspective is not well understood. This study investigates the ontogenetic patterns of mid‐facial contour in two human populations to better understand how development contributes to population divergence in mid‐face shape. One hundred three‐dimensional computed tomographic (CT) images of the heads of juveniles (ages 5‐16) from two different populations were utilized: American “whites” and “blacks”. Each population was divided into three different age groups. 3D coordinate locations of landmarks defining mid‐face contour were recorded. Euclidean distance matrix analysis was used to analyze differences in mid‐face shape between the two human groups across all three ontogenetic groupings. Preliminary results indicate significant differences in mid‐face contour between population groups, suggesting that development contributes to population divergence.