Faces in the museum: revising the methods of facial reconstructions

Abstract

Hayes, S. (2015). Faces in the museum: revising the methods of facial reconstructions. Museum Management and Curatorship, Online First Faces in the museum: revising the methods of facial reconstructions AbstractMuseum displays of faces derived from skeletal remains -typically referred to as facial reconstructions -are extraordinarily popular, and frequently function as iconic representations of a much broader engagement with collections from a particular people, time and place. Their actual ability to meaningfully represent either an individual or a museum collection is questionable, as facial reconstructions created for display and published within academic journals show an enduring preference for applying invalidated methods. Since 2002 there has been an increase in verified skull-soft tissue relationships, and these, together with research findings from related academic fields, can be incorporated within an evidence-based estimation of facial appearance. By illustration, a face given to an individual from the Museo de la Plata collection is critically revised to show how validated relationships result in a different face, and furthermore a face that is more closely aligned to what constitutes knowledge and display within the contemporary museum. AbstractMuseum displays of faces derived from skeletal remains -typically referred to as facial reconstructions -are extraordinarily popular, and frequently function as iconic representations of a much broader engagement with collections from a particular people, time and place. Their actual ability to meaningfully represent either an individual or a museum collection is questionable, as facial reconstructions created for display and published within academic journals show an enduring preference for applying invalidated methods. Since 2002 there has been an increase in verified skull-soft tissue relationships, and these, together with research findings from related academic fields, can be incorporated within an evidence-based estimation of facial appearance. By illustration, a face given to an individual from the Museo de la Plata collection is critically revised to show how validated relationships result in a different face, and furthermore a face that is more closely aligned to what constitutes knowledge and display within the contemporary museum.

The infant mummy’s face—Paleoradiological investigation and comparison between facial reconstruction and mummy portrait of a Roman-period Egyptian child

“…The replicas in the study had been made either by direct duplication of the osseous skull or through 3D-printing for skulls that had been previously evaluated by CT scanning. In addition to this collection, isolated further reconstructions are available in literature on Egyptian mummies [ 13 – 16 ] but also on other historic individuals [ 17 , 18 ].…”

A geometric morphometric evaluation of the Belanglo ‘Angel’ facial approximation

“…However, this approach also results in contaminating the evidence, which is not desirable in forensic facial approximations. CT scans or 3D scans are a far more accurate basis on which to estimate facial appearance, and have an additional advantage of more easily facilitating a methodological revision of the original results [61].…”

A computerized craniofacial reconstruction method for an unidentified skull based on statistical shape models

“…Many previous studies have described the advantages of computerized CFR approaches [1,11,12], however, manual 2D and 3D approaches continue to be used for both forensic purposes and archaeology [13]. One reason may be that only a few teams have access to a computerized CFR system, which requires sophisticated computer-based techniques and a database containing a large skull and face models dataset [14].…”