Evolution of the Human Head

An evolutionary missing link? Notice the size of the forehead on homo habilis below and the Greek and Roman busts versus contemporary man. I noticed that the forehead has gotten larger overtime, be it may ever so slight over the last 2000 + years it still has changed giving rise to increased brain size. I believe by using the ancient sculpture we can document the evolution of the human figure mainly the head. This seems to be a study that has gone un-noticed by current archeology. The forehead is well documented on sculpture in the art of ancient civilizations that can be measured and compared against contemporary man. I think it needs investigating.

Homo Habilis 1.6-2.5 mil.

Egyption King and Queen Menkure and Khamerernebty. Ca. 2,525-2,470 BC

Depiction of Hermes - Copy from the old.

Augustus 27-14

Augustus 27-14

Nerva 96-98

Trajan 98-117

Human_face : woman with bouquet of flowers Stock Photo

Modern human

Comments: 13

John Sparacio Oct 24, 2009, 12:53am EDT

Check out this sculpture of 2500 years ago of the Egyption King and Queen Menkure and Khamerernebty. Ca. 2,525-2,470 BC. Slate. Height: 4 feet, 6 inches.
Even smaller yet!

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=egyptian+sculpture&aq=0&oq=egyptian+sculp&aqi=g9g-m1

James A. Oct 24, 2009, 10:36am EDT

Is the statue of the two supposed to life-sized or is simply that height because of the material used in making the statue?

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John Sparacio Oct 24, 2009, 12:55am EDT

When researching do not confuse contemporary copies with the ancient originals. Humans seem to make the contemporary ones more like ourselves.

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Erik Kartman Oct 24, 2009, 1:12am EDT

Check out Florida Rep. Alan Grayson's head. I think you might notice the missing link between ape and man.

APE 131313 Oct 24, 2009, 4:57am EDT

Es'cuse me?

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John Sparacio Oct 24, 2009, 1:16am EDT

hahahahaha very funny Erik but I mean this to be serious.

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Donald Hawley Oct 24, 2009, 11:09am EDT

Bigger is not necessarily smarter.

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Clifford N. Oct 24, 2009, 11:09am EDT

Homo Habilis? Hey that's my neighbor, I knew he was pretty old but who would have thought he has been around that long.

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Nippy Katz (not his real name) Patriotic Troll of Gather Freedom Oct 24, 2009, 12:25pm EDT

Seems to me that the ancient sculptures are within normal variation for modern foreheads. There are a lot of factors here. One is standards of beauty. Another is that many cultures valued symbolic representation more highly than accurate representation.

Note that the 1st century AD sculptures vary widely in forehead slope.

Modern humans have much bigger frontal lobes than Homo Habilis. I think studies have shown that in 19th and 20th century humans that brain size doesn't correlate with intelligence except in cases of congenital defects--i.e. parts are missing.