Diversity in the Human Face

[Daryl17]

Question for the evolution experts out there, why does the human face differ so much from person to person compared with other primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

I'm betting the human face is no more varied than chimp and gorilla faces.

~~ Paul

 

[Daryl17]

I beg to differ....
3 Gorillas

3 Chimps

3 Humans

 

[John Hewitt]

Question for the evolution experts out there, why does the human face differ so much from person to person compared with other primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas.

I believe this variation is thought to be linked to the need for individuals to recognise one another in social groups. By this recognition, we can become familiar with the social rank and friend or foe status that we have assigned to each individual. We can also recognise interlopers, members of other groups, and react accordingly.
Incidentally, despite the question, chimps are also quite variable and quite a few other species seem able to recognise one another.
Our brain seems to be specifically adapted to recognising human faces and facial cues about mood so it is possible we may be better at recognising our own variability than we are at recognising that of other species. I think our variability is real but some part of our perceived heterogeneity may be an illusion arising from this greater sensitivity to our own faces.

 

[andyandy]

i think diversity is in the eye of the beholder.....

when i first moved to japan, i'd look out upon my class and be wholly unable to distinguish facial features beyond absolute basics - one student really did look virtually the same as another. It was only after spending a few months there that i found i became attuned to Japanese facial variation - and by the time i left, i'd say i could notice as much facial variation as i could back here in the UK.....

so i expect that to an orang, all us humans look pretty much the same

oh dear, this isn't a third-rail anti-evolution thread is it? I've got a sinking feeling.....

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Daryl, shave the facial hair off those fellows and then check again. Ever noticed how everyone's head looks the same until you shave them bald?

~~ Paul

 

[Roboramma]

Considering that human brains evolved to distinguish between human faces, the fact that they notice more diversity between human faces than between chimpanzee faces doesn't really tell us much.

You'd have to do a much more exact survey of facial features than just looking at a few pictures and saying "Which ones seem more diverse?" before you can answer the question.

That doesn't mean I think that human faces aren't more diverse. I just don't know one way or the other.

If it is the case that human faces are more diverse, then I guess we might be faced with your question of why. There are all sorts of explanations that we could come up with, but it would take a lot more effort to actually test them, and I think that in the short term the results would likely be ambigous, though eventually we might figure it out.

So, to answer the OP, I don't know that there is a difference, and if there is, I don't know why. Aren't I helpful?

 

[Dave1001]

Considering that human brains evolved to distinguish between human faces, the fact that they notice more diversity between human faces than between chimpanzee faces doesn't really tell us much.

You'd have to do a much more exact survey of facial features than just looking at a few pictures and saying "Which ones seem more diverse?" before you can answer the question.

That doesn't mean I think that human faces aren't more diverse. I just don't know one way or the other.

If it is the case that human faces are more diverse, then I guess we might be faced with your question of why. There are all sorts of explanations that we could come up with, but it would take a lot more effort to actually test them, and I think that in the short term the results would likely be ambigous, though eventually we might figure it out.

So, to answer the OP, I don't know that there is a difference, and if there is, I don't know why. Aren't I helpful?

This is exactly the post I would have tried to write, if Roboramma hadn't written it first.

 

[Eos of the Eons]

We also are able to live in far more diverse areas and eat far more diverse food types. We've adapted far more to many habitats than any other primate. Mind you, I've heard people say asians all look alike.


Look at ethnic areas, and you'll see many of the same features in the people. If we humans kept to small areas and never interacted, we might have become different species in different areas, but as a species we can adapt as we are quite well. So, we've ended up with diverse features instead of becoming distinct species.

There are many primate species, with diverse colors and features. How many great ape species can interbreed? There aren't that many of them, and they aren't widespread.

 

[athon]

Keep in mind that sheep are apparently quite adept at telling a 'familiar' sheep face from an unfamiliar one. I'd need to do a quick search for the paper on that, though.

I think the matter has been covered well by previous posts. A) Are we really more diverse? B) If so, the variation in populations across geographical regions might account for some of it, and C) the fact we are attuned to seeing minor variances in our own populations better than in others might account for the illusion of similarity across a population of non-human primates.

I should also point out that there was a fascinating exhibition in London a couple of years ago on the great apes, with a large number of facial portraits taken photographically of some chimps, gorillas and orangutan. And the variation between individuals was astonishing.

Athon