The human face has been fashioned over millions of years, going through ice ages and soaring temperatures, evolving from our ape origins to what we see today. The human face is unlike any other in the world. While there are some similarities between our faces and the faces of other primates, it’s undeniable that humans are capable of a much greater ensemble of expressions than any animal in the animal kingdom.
Scientists haven’t yet hammered out a perfect theory on how and why the human face evolved, but among the leading theories is the idea that we evolved a face that could more accurately express emotions. Animals with larger brains tend to be more social, and non-verbal cues are essential forms of communication for social animals.
Adam Wilkins is the author of a book called Making Faces: The Evolutionary Origins of the Human Face, and he has a hypothesis—that the human face evolved to express more emotions in tandem with our brains evolving to interpret more emotions. It seems intuitive.
If a picture says a thousand words, a face tells a thousand emotions.
And now, some early research is starting to show that our faces might be capable of communicating much more than just emotions. Our faces might be capable of conveying behaviors and intentions, as well as emotions.
In mid-2021, a study from Macquarie University flew under the radar. It’s one of those interesting studies that make your head spin a bit. While it certainly has its limitations, the study wanted to use the lockdown to discover a bit about our sexuality and what we think other people desire. It was published in the science journal Evolution and Human Behavior in mid-July, and it asked 103 young people to answer questions about their openness to casual sex.
The questionnaire administered is a classic, called the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory, and it not only covers how interested we are in casual sex but also what we think about relationships.
Do we think that love must be forever? Do we think having sex without love is wrong?
These are the kinds of things covered by the questionnaire.
