Dr. T. Tóth szerk.: Studia historico-anthropologica (Anthropologia Hungarica 20. Budapest, 1988)

COMPARISON OF THE ORBITAL REGIONS In the RUD-77 skull the bones bordering the orbits from above (supraorbital margins) and laterally (facies orbitális) had remained intact in the left part, while the infraorbital margin is missing. The relative position of the two orbits is clearly delimited by the interorbital region and the glabellar region of the frontal bone. Therefore we may state that the orbits of the RUD-77 skull are connected to each other by a relatively wide interorbital region (1), the width of the orbit was smaller than its height (2), and it was probably "D" shaped (Fig. 3). On the P.A. 677 skull belonging to a female Sivapithecus lufengensis, the glabella of the frontal bone and several margins of the orbit are already deformed; they have moved from their original position. After the study of the original find the following steps became necessary in the course of the reconstruction of the original position of the orbit: (1) To connect the superciliar arch (which had pressed into the orbit) with the left side zygomatica in a view which may correspond to the frontal view (this could be achieved with a relatively great accuracy). (2) To mirror the contour of the left-side orbit to the right side in the centre line of the face. It also makes it possible to correct the supraorbital and lateral arches of the right orbit. The infraorbital region is more complete in the right orbit than in the left one, therefore it is more reasonable to reconstruct the left side based on the right side. (3) It became clear from the superior view of the calvaria that as a result of a compression from above, this part of the skull had become slightly flattened at the frontal bone. The divergence from the original condition is of 8-10%. After comparing the Lufeng skull with the RUD-77 find, I have come to the conclusion that it is probable that the width of the two skulls measured at the sutura fronto-zygomatica had been nearly the same. If we fit this measuring point of the undistorted Rudapithecus skull on the Lufeng skull a position is obtained which affords the same possibility for comparison for both skulls (Fig. 3). The results of this reconstruction process is the following: The width of the orbit in the P.A. 677 find is larger by approximately 30% than its height. The orbit is rectangular

, with rounded corners - as given in the original description (WU RUKANG al. 1986). Another statement of the same study is that the interorbital region is very wide. After making the last step of the reconstruction process described above, this distance diminished considerably becoming identical with the respective distance in the RUD-77 skull. As compared to Sivapithecus indicus (GSP 15 000) and recent orang-outang this characteristic of the skull can still be considered very wide. Projecting on each other the reconstructed orbital regions of the Rudabánya and Lufeng skulls (Fig. 3) the following essential differences can be demonstrated: (1) the basic froms of the orbits are dissimilar, (2) in frontal view the frontal bone of the find P.A. 677 is higher than this bone in the RUD-77 skull, (3) the zygomatic bone of the Lufeng find is wider than the respective bone of the Rudabánya skull. LATERAL VIEW OF THE ZYGOMATIC REGION The bony frame which borders the orbit from outside consists of the processus zygomaticus of the frontal bone and the processus frontalis of the zygomatic bone. The two bones are joint by the sutura frontozygomatica. The relative position of these bones, connected with the development of the supraorbital tori is a very important evolutionary trait. Its importance has already been emphasized during the investigations carried ont on the Rudapithecus skull (KORDOS 1987a, b). Generally speaking, these bones in Neogene finds (

Proconsul africanus

, Rudapithecus hungaricus, Sivapithecus indicus

) are situated in an approximately straight plane. From the early Australopithecus finds to Homo sapiens in lateral views a characteristic arch of the orbit has developed. This arch is formed by a backward bend of the process of the zygomatic bone and by a forward bend of the processus frontalis of the frontal bone. Since no lateral perspective of the Lufeng finds has been published in the literature, in itself it does not afford any possibility to study this characteristic. Now the examination of the original finds P.A. 677 and P.A. 644 ones makes it possible to carry on this analysis. In the P.A. 677 (female) skull the processus frontalis, together with the superciliar arch, had been pressed into the orbit as results of pressure from aboved. At the same time they did not suffer any