Making faces : the evolutionary origins of the human face / Adam S. Wilkins; illustrated by Sarah Kennedy.

This book sets out to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the human face, in terms of both the fossil evidence and the recent findings of genetics, molecular biology, and developmental biology that have illuminated how the human face forms during embryonic and fetal development. In exploring this history, we will see how intimately the evolution of the face was connected to that of the brain and how mental and social processes have helped shape the human face; intriguingly, those processes have continued well into the recent history of our species. Along the way, we will take note of the remarkable diversity of human faces and examine the genetic foundations of that diversity, findings relevant to understanding the (probable) evolutionary future of the face. The final chapter sums up the key features of the history of the face, and explores how that history illuminates human evolution specifically and exemplifies the evolutionary process in general.-- Provided by publisher

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Thinking about the human face as a product of evolution -- How the face develops: from early embryo to late teenager -- Genetic and molecular foundations of the face -- The genetic basis of facial diversity -- History of the face i: from earliest vertebrates to first primates -- History of the face ii: from early primates to modern humans -- Brain and face co-evolution: recognizing, reading and making faces -- Post-speciation: the evolving face in modern humans -- On face consciousness and the future of the human face -- Social selection in the shaping of the human face.