The main results of using the method of composite photo portrait for the purposes of ethnic anthropology (in the works of anthropologists of Lomonosov Moscow State University)

Abstract

Introduction. One of the central tasks of ethnic anthropology is to describe the phenotypic variability in modern human populations. In recent years, the number of publications visualizing the morphological features of a human face at the population level has increased significantly. The purpose of the article is to show the latest achievements of Lomonosov Moscow State University’s anthropologists, made by using the composite photo portrait (CPP) method.

Materials and methods. The material for the article was the works of the Moscow University’s anthropological scientific school in recent years (from 2009 to 2024), made using the composite photo portrait method.

Results and discussion. Recently, several innovations have been introduced: it has become possible to create CPP in profile and ¾ norms; a transition has been made in creating a photo portrait from combining individual images at 2 points to pulling them together at more points; the optimal number of photographic images for creating CPP has been mathematically determined; it has become possible to characterize human populations with a series of ontogenetic portraits. The gallery of composite photo portraits has been replenished with photographs of the peoples of the Volga-Ural region, the Caucasus, North, Central, South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, as well as countries of Africa and Latin America. The application of the CPP method in paleoanthropology has begun.

Conclusion. A qualitative leap has been made in the Lomonosov Moscow State University’s Research Institute of Anthropology in the research and development of photographic materials with the help of CPP: a software application for the CPP formation has been created and significantly improved; the gallery of photo portraits of ethnic groups around the globe has been seriously expanded. For the first time a series of photo generalizations characterizing human populations at different stages of ontogenesis were created. The composite photo portrait method remains a promising scientific tool that opens up wide opportunities for studying various aspects of the phenotypic variability of ancient and modern human populations. © 2024. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

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