: Quantification of the morphological evolution of the Hominid skull and heterochronies

Comparisons of adult skulls of various species of great apes, fossil hominids and modem humans in the sagittal, Francfort and ortho-sagittal planes reveal a series of three separate organisation plans: 'GreatApe', 'Australopithecine'and 'Homo', tbe latter including primitive men (Homo ergaster-erectus-neandertalensis) and modern humans (Homo sapiens). Morphological changes between these plans are quantified for the first time here by vector fields. This study confirms the existence of cranio-facial contraction, which occurs as a series of leaps. The juvenile morphology of the great ape skull is broadly preserved in adult Homo sapiens, suggesting that numerous heterochronies have occurred in…