Future Face
The latest in a series of collaborations between the Wellcome Trust and the Science Museum, "Future Face" asks questions about the human face and identity and considers what faces might look like in the future. The exhibition runs from 1 October 2004 – 13 February 2005.
The RN-DS Partnership were asked to provide four reconstructions for inclusion in the exhibition. The four reconstructions which were chosen represent the development of mankind over 200,000 years.
Firstly, there is "Broken Hill Man", an early member of Homo heidelbergensis and dating from around 200,000-125,000 years ago. This specimen was found in Zambia in 1921, and superficially has some of the features one associates with the Neanderthal. However, the shape of the nasal bone and the nasal aperture are very different, as indeed is the shape of the cranium. Proportionally the brow ridges are much more pronounced. The second reconstruction is of a Homo neanderthalis from La Ferrassie (maybe dating as far back as 70,000 years). He has all the classic features associated with the Neanderthal - the powerful neck and head, the heavy brow, large nose and rather receding chin. These are more obvious on the skull than they are once the soft tissue is added.
The third reconstruction is of a Homo sapiens woman from Brazil (around 16,000 years old). Extensive work by Dr Walter Neves at the University of Sao Paolo on numerous skulls from this period demonstrate that they are Negroid people as opposed to Mongoloid people, as previously thought. Finally there is "London Lily", a forensic reconstruction created for the Metropolitan Police to help identify an unknown murder victim who died around two years ago.
The RN-DS Partnership were asked to provide four reconstructions for inclusion in the exhibition. The four reconstructions which were chosen represent the development of mankind over 200,000 years.
Firstly, there is "Broken Hill Man", an early member of Homo heidelbergensis and dating from around 200,000-125,000 years ago. This specimen was found in Zambia in 1921, and superficially has some of the features one associates with the Neanderthal. However, the shape of the nasal bone and the nasal aperture are very different, as indeed is the shape of the cranium. Proportionally the brow ridges are much more pronounced. The second reconstruction is of a Homo neanderthalis from La Ferrassie (maybe dating as far back as 70,000 years). He has all the classic features associated with the Neanderthal - the powerful neck and head, the heavy brow, large nose and rather receding chin. These are more obvious on the skull than they are once the soft tissue is added.
The third reconstruction is of a Homo sapiens woman from Brazil (around 16,000 years old). Extensive work by Dr Walter Neves at the University of Sao Paolo on numerous skulls from this period demonstrate that they are Negroid people as opposed to Mongoloid people, as previously thought. Finally there is "London Lily", a forensic reconstruction created for the Metropolitan Police to help identify an unknown murder victim who died around two years ago.
