Scientists have consistently focussed on the size and shape of the face in studies of both function (chewing, seeing, etc) and ancestry. There clearly has been a great deal of room for conflicting interpretations of the same materials. All the problems would be clarified by an improved understanding of the influences that differences in size during growth of the face, which is acknowledged to have at least some major effect. This study will evaluate the hypothesis that differences between individual facial size and shape are primarily the result of some common inherited patterns of growth differentials. This will be the first broad, comparative, and explicitly phylogenetic investigation of developmental patterns within and between some monkey species and genera. The study has considerable relevance for understanding the dynamics of facial growth and will aid in the superior training of a new young scientist.
