Quantitative assessment of the facial features of a Mexican population dataset

Abstract

The present study describes the morphological variation of a large database of facial photographs. The database comprises frontal (386 female, 764 males) and lateral (312 females, 666 males) images of Mexican individuals aged 14–69 years that were obtained under controlled conditions. We used geometric morphometric methods and multivariate statistics to describe the phenotypic variation within the dataset as well as the variation regarding sex and age groups. In addition, we explored the correlation between facial traits in both views. We found a spectrum of variation that encompasses broad and narrow faces. In frontal view, the latter is associated to a longer nose, a thinner upper lip, a shorter lower face and to a longer upper face, than individuals with broader faces. In lateral view, antero-posteriorly shortened faces are associated to a longer profile and to a shortened helix, than individuals with longer faces. Sexual dimorphism is found in all age groups except for individuals above 39 years old in lateral view. Likewise, age-related changes are significant for both sexes, except for females above 29 years old in both views. Finally, we observed that the pattern of covariation between views differs in males and females mainly in the thickness of the upper lip and the angle of the facial profile and the auricle. The results of this study could contribute to the forensic practices as a complement for the construction of biological profiles, for example, to improve facial reconstruction procedures.