Horizontal profile of facial skeletons from the Himrin Basin, Iraq.

Abstract

This paper describes the horizontal profile of facial skeletons from the Himrin Basin, Iraq. The horizontal profiles both of the face and anterior face were evaluated using a total of 22 width and depth measurements.Ninety-five skulls which included dolichocranic (Mediterranean) and brachycranic (Alpine) racial types were utilized. Uni- and multivariate analyses were applied to estimate racial and sexual variations both in the faces and anterior faces, to confirm racial type based on the morphology of the face, to evaluate population characteristics, and to ascertain the racial positions of the two racial types in the world.Employing multivariate analyses, horizontal profiles of the maxillary region of the face could be used to discriminate between the two racial types in males, while a horizontal profile of the maxillary region of the anterior face could be used for females. Sexual variations within racial types were determined by size differences both in the overall regions of the face and in the frontal region of the anterior face.By applying univariate analyses, the racial type in males could be determined by size differences in the width of the postero-basal region of the face, namely, the cranial base. The racial type in females could be determined by size differences both in the depth of the maxillary region of the anteriorface and in the width of the cranial base.Employing multivariate analyses, comparative studies clearly indicated that the two racial types from the Himrin Basin were members of the Caucasoid race.