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6047 Silsby Hall
Hanover, NH 03755
Phone: 603-646-3436
Fax: 603-646-1140
seth.d.dobson@dartmouth.edu
I am a biological anthropologist with broad interests in human evolution and
primate behavior. My current research focuses on the evolution of facial
expression in relation to social organization.
Anthropoid primates (monkeys, apes, and humans) rely on facial expressions
in social interactions more so than any other group of mammals. However,
species differ with regard to the complexity and number of displays in their
repertoire. In addition, humans exhibit several adaptations for facial
expression production and processing, including universally recognized displays
corresponding to specific basic emotions. Interspecific variation in facial
expression and intraspecific uniformity both suggest the action of natural
selection, but few studies have investigated the adaptive evolution of facial
expression from a comparative perspective.
My research focuses on the evolution of facial expression in monkeys and
apes by integrating two perspectives: (1) comparative tests of evolutionary
hypotheses concerning the ultimate factors influencing the evolution of facial
expression at the interspecific level, and (2) observational studies of the
relationship between social structure and facial display use at the
intraspecific level.
My comparative research focuses on the observed mobility of the muscles of
facial expression. Facial mobility, or the variety of facial movements a
species can perform, may represent an important morphological constraint on the
evolution of facial expression. The main goal of my dissertation was to apply a
method from psychology, the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), to estimate the
number of functionally-distinct facial movements observed across a diverse
array of species. This quantitative measure of facial mobility is amenable to
comparative statistical analysis. I use these data to address questions
regarding allometric and other size effects on facial mobility in anthropoid
primates.
While my research so far has focused on comparative issues, I am currently
developing a field project to study facial display use in geladas
(Theropithecus gelada) in Simien National Park, Ethiopia. This work
will be carried out in collaboration with Drs. Jacinta Beehner and Thore
Bergman at the University of Michigan. The main goal of this research is to
examine the proximate effects of social structure on facial expression within a
single species. Gelada monkeys represent an ideal case study because they live
in a multi-level society with two types of groups that differ with regard to
social structure. The visibility of this species in the highlands of Ethiopia
also offers a rare opportunity to study facial expression in a natural
setting.
Through my education at the University of Michigan (B.S., 1999) and
Washington University (A.M., 2002; Ph.D., 2006), I developed broad interests in
a variety of areas within biological anthropology. I have published on topics
in paleoanthropology as a single author and in collaboration with colleagues
such as Milford Wolpoff and Erik Trinkaus. In addition, my interest in
comparative methods draws me to a diversity of problems in primate biology,
such as patterns of phylogenetic signal in long bone structure.
My course offerings at Dartmouth include courses in human evolutionary
biology and primatology.
Publications:
- O’Neill MC, Dobson SD (in press) The degree and pattern of phylogenetic
signal in primate long-bone structure. Journal of Human
Evolution.
- Clark JL, Dobson SD, Antón SC, Hawks J, Hunley KL, Wolpoff MH (in press)
Identifying artificially deformed crania. International Journal of
Osteoarchaeology.
- Dobson SD (2005) Are the differences between Stw 431 (Australopithecus
africanus) and A.L. 288-1 (A. afarensis) significant? Journal
of Human Evolution 49:143-154.
- Dobson SD, Trinkaus E (2002) Cross-sectional geometry and morphology of the
mandibular symphysis in Middle and Late Pleistocene Homo. Journal of Human
Evolution 43:67-87.
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