For centuries, human variation has primarily been thought of in terms of ethnic groups or even cruder traits, such as skin color.
The fact is that the shape of an individual's face is of vastly greater significance in determining their overall "look" than skin color. Indeed, the face is the center of what we perceive to be an individual. A body shown without a face is merely an anonymous torso, but a face shown without a body is just as clearly a distinct individual as when a face is shown with its body. All it takes is a black bar across the eyes, a bandanna covering the jaw, or sometimes just a new hairstyle in order to obscure our perception of an individual's face.
Face shape is such a significant part of the human phenotype, yet its full significance has been ignored by traditional crude, ethnocentric classifications of "race" and human variation. A less crude and non-ethnocentric way of looking at human variation must start with re-evaluating how we look at faces.
Face shape transcends ethnic group. In every nationality and ethnic cluster one can find examples of every face shape. Once we break free from the aesthetic poison of fixating on skin color or superficial ethnic features, it becomes quite clear that, visually and metrically, an Oval-shaped face from one ethnic group looks more similar to an Oval-shaped face from a different ethnic group than to a Square-shaped face from the same ethnic group! Don't just take my word for it, convince yourself by visiting the Face Shape Gallery pages!
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Have a suggestion for an individual who should be included in one of the Face Shape Galleries? Post it here! Public figures (e.g. models, actors, musicians, athletes, celebrities) only please--no private individuals.
Other questions or comments are encouraged as well.