Attached
The face is the part of the front of the head between the ears and from the chin to the hairline. Prosopic index is
the length of the faoe from the root of the nose to the bottom of the chin, expressed as percentage of the greatest breadth
across the cheek bones. The present study was designed to assess the face anthropometry of Purana (old) inhabitants at
Sigiriya Suburbs, Sri Lanka, whose ancestry goes back to the times of the Sinhalese Kings of the 5th century A.D. (1,450
YBP). Prior written informed consent was obtained from the subjects. The facial length, breadth were measured by
following the standard procedures and prosopic index was calculated. From the study it was calculated that mean facial
length was 12.56cm in male and 12.00cm in female. Facial breadth was 12.00cm in male and 10.99cm in female. The
prosopic index (mean) was 92.01 in male and 89.99 in female. The dominant type of face shape in male was leptoprosopic
(30.09%) followed by mesoprosopic (23.80%), hyperleptoprosopic(21.90%). In females dominant type of face was
leptoprosopic (34.43%) followed by hyperleptoprosopic (23.46%), mesoprosopic (22.16%) Considering male and female as
a single population group (common adult) irrespective of gender, the common prosopic phenotype of the Purana population
was leptoprosopic (37.66%). The date of the study will be useful to anthropologists, plastic surgeons, anatomists and
forensic experts.
