EVOLUTION OF THE HUMAN FACE 



385 



or suspected, as in the ease of the iiiaiii- 

 malian diaphragm which is believed to 

 liave arisen in the neck region and to 

 have migrated backward, dragging its 

 nerves witli it. 



The facial muscles in num not only 

 corres])ond with tliose in otlier mam- 

 mals. l)ut they also show special de- 

 tailed resemblances when compared 

 with the facial muscles of apes. Dar- 

 win and other investigators found that 

 apes use these muscles much as we do, 

 but with rather more emphasis than is 

 usual in polite society. When a child 

 first takes lessons on the piano, the 

 teacher sometimes has to remind him 

 or her that the piano should be played 

 with the hands and not with the face — 

 and sonietimes it takes considerable re- 

 pression on the part of the beginner to 

 keep the facial muscles still, while striv- 

 ing to do anything with the hands that 

 re(piires intense concentration and ef- 

 fort. A trained chimpanzee, trying 

 wvy hard to thi'ead a needle, has an 

 intent expression and very tense lips, 

 reminding us of the familiar human 

 trait. 



A gorilla in anger lifts the lips so as 

 to expose the canine teeth and swells 

 the muscles that run to the corners of 

 the mouth so that they can be seen 

 standing out on the side of the face. 

 The arrangement of the wrinkles on the 

 face in apes as well as in man, seems to 

 have a definite relation to the facial 

 muscles, often forming across the pull 

 of the underlying muscles. Perhaps 

 the ])rincipal difference between the 

 facial muscles of num and those of 

 a])es, apart from differences in relative 

 size, is that in man the u]iper li]) is full 

 and protruded while in the apes it is a 

 thin ''hard"" lip. very niusculai". but 

 tightly drawn. 



The human nose is hai'dly an insju'r- 

 ing subject from an anatomical ])oint 



(if view: internally it is decidedly de- 

 generate, as compared with that of 

 other mamnials. and externally it has 

 nothing very wondei-ful abont it. like 

 tlie nose of the ele})hant oi' those of 

 various bats. The adult hnnian nose, 

 at least in the liiglier I'aces. dilTei's I'l-iini 

 that of apes chic!ly in the following 

 characters: the Iiridge of the nose is 

 highei-; the whole nasal cai'tilage is ])ro- 

 duced forward and downward, often 

 ending below in a well -shaped tip: the 

 nose is narrower at the base in ]iro])oi'- 

 tion to its height, and the nostrils face 

 downward rather than forward. Now, 

 however important these differences may 

 be from an aesthetic point of view, they 

 are rather small from the standpoint 

 of evolution, the more so since the nose 

 of the human foetus in its earlier and 

 less differentiated stages is decidedly 

 more apelike than human. Even in 

 babies the nose has l)y no means ap- 

 proached its adult human form. 

 Among living apes the gorilla makes by 

 far the nearest approach to the human 

 condition in the shape of its nose, 

 although the great ^\'idth and the for- 

 ward facing of the nostrils give it. 

 according to human standards, a repul- 

 sive appearance. 



In the face of the Australian black 

 man we find some ]u-imitive gorilla-like 

 characters along with others that are 

 tyjiically human. The nose is exces- 

 sively wide at the l>ase and the bridge 

 between the eyes is very low. but the 

 nostrils point downward and the tip of 

 the nose is (list inct ly Imnian. 



.\ Wonderfully well-studied restoi'a- 

 tioni of the extinct ape-man of Java 

 (Pin/crantJiropus) shows a very wide 

 nose, with the nostrils facing partly 

 foi'ward and jtartly downwai'd. and 

 \\ith a dee]) de])ression aboNC the nose. 



' By Professor .J. H. ilacCrregor. of Cohiinliia 

 t'liiversitv. 



