Analysis of Craniofacial Morphology and Development

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This grant provides the first of an expected two years of support. It allows Dr. Ward and his collaborators to study skulls of fossil primates which date to the Miocene period: from approximately 25 million to 4 million years ago. To establish a comparative context research will also be conducted on collections of living apes. Specimens from localities in East Africa, Europe, Southern and East Asia will be comparatively evaluated for the presence or absence of a number of features. These observations will be augmented by quantitative stereometry which permits the analysis of complex anatomical surfaces. On the basis of this and previous studies it should be possible to assign the major Miocene samples to their appropriate groups and determine the relationship between these and possible living descendents. Through analysis of fossil remains, human ancestry can be traced back about 4 million years. The orangutan, another of the hominoids can be traced back into the Miocene. The ancestry of the African great apes - the gorilla and chimpanzee - is unknown. In the last several years a large number of Miocene hominoid fossils have been recovered and these indicate that these large bodied primates were present in many parts of the Old World. It is also clear that they belong to a number of species. However scientists still cannot agree how many species are present or how they relate (if at all) to modern species. Dr. Ward's analysis should help to answer this question. This research is important because increases our understanding of the development of both our own and closely related species and will give us insight into the processes which have shaped this development over time. Fossils, often recovered at great expense, only achieve their full worth when analyzed and understood. Dr. Ward's research will make a significant contribution towards this end.