A new article by Dr. Ricardo Godinho et al. has just been published in the prestigious journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. The article adds important data to the debate concerning the morphology of the browridge in Homo species, which, thus far, was thought to be significantly impacted by biting mechanics. Based on the virtual manipulation of the browridge morphology of an archaic hominins the authors were able to show that this element is much larger than the minimum required to fulfil spatial demands, and that browridge size has little impact on mechanical performance during biting, highlighting that the “conversion of the large browridges of our immediate ancestors to a more vertical frontal bone in modern humans allowed highly mobile eyebrows to display subtle affiliative emotions.”
The full version of this paper is available HERE