Universal facial expressions uncovered in art of the ancient Americas: A computational approach

Central to the study of emotion is evidence concerning its universality, particularly the degree to which emotional expressions are similar across cultures. Here, we present an approach to studying the universality of emotional expression that rules out cultural contact and circumvents potential biases in survey-based methods: A computational analysis of apparent facial expressions portrayed in artwork created by members of cultures isolated from Western civilization. Using data-driven methods, we find that facial expressions depicted in 63 sculptures from the ancient Americas tend to accord with Western expectations for emotions that unfold in specific social contexts. Ancient American sculptures tend to portray at least five facial expressions in contexts predicted by Westerners, including “pain” in torture, “determination”/“strain” in heavy lifting, “anger” in combat, “elation” in social touch, and “sadness” in defeat-supporting the universality of these expressions.