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Richards GD, Jabbour RS, Guipert G, Defleur A. Endocranial anatomy of the Guercy 1 early Neanderthal from Baume Moula-Guercy (Soyons, Ardèche, France). Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2023; 306:564-593. [PMID: 36336759 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 10/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
We provide the first comparative description of the endocranium of the Guercy 1 Early Neanderthal and examine its affinities to Preneanderthals, Neanderthals, and Homo sapiens. The Guercy 1 cranium derives from deposits chronostratigraphically and biostratigraphically dated to the Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e). For comparative purposes, we compiled a sample of European and Southwest Asian subadult and adult Middle-to-Late Pleistocene hominins (≈MIS 12-MIS 1; N = 65). We sampled both a Preneanderthal-Neanderthal group and a Homo sapiens group. The Preneanderthal-Neanderthal group was further divided into three time-successive subgroups defined by associated MIS stages. Metric and morphological observations were made on original fossils and physical and virtual endocranial reconstructions. Guercy 1 and other Early Neanderthals, differ from Preneanderthals by increased development of the prefrontal cortex, precentral and postcentral gyri, inferior parietal lobule, and frontoparietal operculum. Early Neanderthal differ, in general, from Late Neanderthals by exhibiting less development in most of the latter brain structures. The late group additionally differentiates itself from the early group by a greater development of the rostral superior parietal lobule, angular gyrus, superior and middle temporal gyri, and caudal branches of the superior temporal gyrus. Endocranial morphology assessed along the Preneanderthal-Neanderthal sequence show that brain structures prominent in Preneanderthals are accentuated in Early-to-Late Neanderthals. However, both the Early and Late groups differentiate themselves by also showing regionally specific changes in brain development. This pattern of morphological change is consistent with a mosaic pattern of neural evolution in these Middle-to-Late Pleistocene hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary D Richards
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, A. A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Rebecca S Jabbour
- Department of Biology, Saint Mary's College of California, Moraga, California, USA
| | - Gaspard Guipert
- Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, Fondation Albert Ier Prince de Monaco, Paris, France
| | - Alban Defleur
- CEPAM - UMR 7264 CNRS, Université de Nice, Nice Cedex 4, France
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Digital Reconstructions Using Linear Regression: How Well Can It Estimate Missing Shape Data from Small Damaged Areas? BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11121741. [PMID: 36552251 PMCID: PMC9775256 DOI: 10.3390/biology11121741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Skeletal remains analyzed by anthropologists, paleontologists and forensic scientists are usually found fragmented or incomplete. Accurate estimations of the original morphologies are a challenge for which several digital reconstruction methods have been proposed. In this study, the accuracy of reconstructing bones based on multiple linear regression (RM) was tested. A total of 150 digital models from complete zygomatics from recent past populations (European and African American) were studied using high-density geometric morphometrics. Some landmarks (i.e., 2, 3 and 6) were coded as missing to simulate incomplete zygomatics and the missing landmarks were estimated with RM. In the zygomatics, this simulated damage affects a few square centimeters or less. Finally, the predicted and original shape data were compared. The results indicate that the predicted landmark coordinates were significantly different from the original ones, although this difference was less than the difference between the original zygomatic and the mean zygomatic in the sample. The performance of the method was affected by the location and the number of missing landmarks, with decreasing accuracy with increasing damaged area. We conclude that RM can accurately estimate the original appearance of the zygomatics when the damage is small.
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Malfroy Camine L, Varlet V, Campana L, Grabherr S, Moghaddam N. The big puzzle: A critical review of virtual re-association methods for fragmented human remains in a DVI context'. Forensic Sci Int 2021; 330:111033. [PMID: 34883302 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.111033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 09/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
During a Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) mission, international protocols rely on interdisciplinary work, especially between specialists from forensic imaging and anthropology. In case of air crashes or explosions, DVI units may face thousands of fragmented human remains (FHRs). The physical re-association of FHRs and the identification process is very complex and challenging, and relies upon expensive and destructive DNA analysis. A virtual re-association (VRA) of these fragments, using Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCT), could be a helpful tool in forensic anthropology analysis, as it could assist in reducing the number of DNA samples. However, there is no standardized protocol for including such an approach into a DVI procedure. The aim of this study was to summarize and analyze existing techniques through a systematic review and to develop a protocol for virtual re-association of FHRs, adapted to the DVI context. A keyword-based literature search was conducted, focusing on the VRA methods using MDCT imaging and 3D surface scan methodology. Reviews and primary articles, published between 2005 and 2020 in the fields of forensic anthropology, paleoanthropology, archeology, and fracture reduction surgery were sorted out. A total of 45 publications were selected and analyzed based on their content and relevance. The results show that research on the re-association of FHRs increased significantly during the last five years. Seven steps regarding the MDCT-based method for the virtual re-association of FHRs could be identified: acquisition of 3D-images, segmentation of the MDCT-data, post-processing and surface generation, identification of intact and fracture surfaces, identification and registration of matching fragments, and validation of the re-association. The literature is surprisingly sparse regarding the FHRs re-association as a forensic tool, and mainly consists in case reports, whereas validated methods were presented in archeology and surgery publications. However, we were able to adapt the MDCT-based approach for the virtual re-association of the FHRs and propose an innovative protocol for DVI missions. This protocol includes the needed details, from the acquisition of MDCT imaging to the virtual re-association of 3D models and its validation. Each step has to be fully tested, adapted and validated in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lise Malfroy Camine
- Swiss Human Institute of Forensic Taphonomy, University Centre of Legal Medicine Lausanne Geneva, Switzerland; Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Vincent Varlet
- Swiss Human Institute of Forensic Taphonomy, University Centre of Legal Medicine Lausanne Geneva, Switzerland; Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Lorenzo Campana
- Forensic Imaging and Anthropology Unit, University Centre of Legal Medicine Lausanne Geneva, Switzerland; Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Silke Grabherr
- Swiss Human Institute of Forensic Taphonomy, University Centre of Legal Medicine Lausanne Geneva, Switzerland; Forensic Imaging and Anthropology Unit, University Centre of Legal Medicine Lausanne Geneva, Switzerland; Geneva University Hospital and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Negahnaz Moghaddam
- Swiss Human Institute of Forensic Taphonomy, University Centre of Legal Medicine Lausanne Geneva, Switzerland; Forensic Imaging and Anthropology Unit, University Centre of Legal Medicine Lausanne Geneva, Switzerland; Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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Retrodeformation of the Steinheim Cranium: Insights into the Evolution of Neanderthals. Symmetry (Basel) 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/sym13091611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
A number of different approaches are currently available to digitally restore the symmetry of a specimen deformed by taphonomic processes. These tools include mirroring and retrodeformation to approximate the original shape of an object by symmetrisation. Retrodeformation has the potential to return a rather faithful representation of the original shape, but its power is limited by the availability of bilateral landmarks. A recent protocol proposed by Schlager and colleagues (2018) overcomes this issue by using bilateral landmarks and curves as well as semilandmarks. Here we applied this protocol to the Middle Pleistocene human cranium from Steinheim (Germany), the holotype of an abandoned species named Homo steinheimensis. The peculiar morphology of this fossil, associated with the taphonomic deformation of the entire cranium and the lack of a large portion of the right side of the face, has given rise to different hypotheses over its phylogenetic position. The reconstruction presented here sheds new light on the taphonomic origin of some features observed on this crucial specimen and results in a morphology consistent with its attribution to the Neanderthal lineage.
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Davis CA, Profico A, Kappelman J. Digital restoration of the Wilson-Leonard 2 Paleoindian skull (~10,000 BP) from central Texas with comparison to other early American and modern crania. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 176:486-503. [PMID: 34338313 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Craniofacial morphology (CFM) is often used to address questions about the biological affinities of the earliest Americans, or Paleoindians, but resolution is complicated in part by a lack of well-preserved crania. The Wilson-Leonard 2 (WL-2) Paleoindian skull from Texas has never been fully analyzed because it is crushed and cannot be physically reconstructed. This study employs a digital restoration for comprehensive assessment and analysis of WL-2. MATERIALS AND METHODS High-resolution CT data and geometric morphometrics are used to restore the WL-2 skull and analyze its morphology using 65 craniometric measurements acquired on the restoration. These data allow for a full morphological description and multivariate (Mahalanobis Distance and Principal Component) comparisons to other Paleoindians and recent populations. RESULTS WL-2 has a long, narrow braincase, and a short, modestly prognathic face. Compared with other Paleoindians, she is individually similar to several skulls from Brazil, but aligns most closely with pooled samples from the US and Mexico. WL-2 is most similar to recent populations from Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and markedly different to those from Africa and Australia. DISCUSSION The overall morphology of WL-2 and her association with Asians and Europeans align well with trends identified in other CFM analyses. Her affinity to recent Amerindians contrasts with the findings of many previous CFM studies, but is seemingly consistent with molecular analyses suggesting a close relationship between some Paleoindians and modern American Indians. This study demonstrates the potential for using digital anthropological methods to study other Paleoindian crania whose data value is limited by physical destruction and/or deformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Davis
- Paleocultural Research Group, Broomfield, Colorado, USA.,Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Antonio Profico
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - John Kappelman
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.,Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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Campbell RM, Vinas G, Henneberg M, Diogo R. Corrigendum: Visual Depictions of Our Evolutionary Past: A Broad Case Study Concerning the Need for Quantitative Methods of Soft Tissue Reconstruction and Art-Science Collaborations. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.719193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Campbell RM, Vinas G, Henneberg M, Diogo R. Visual Depictions of Our Evolutionary Past: A Broad Case Study Concerning the Need for Quantitative Methods of Soft Tissue Reconstruction and Art-Science Collaborations. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.639048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Flip through scientific textbooks illustrating ideas about human evolution or visit any number of museums of natural history and you will notice an abundance of reconstructions attempting to depict the appearance of ancient hominins. Spend some time comparing reconstructions of the same specimen and notice an obvious fact: hominin reconstructions vary in appearance considerably. In this review, we summarize existing methods of reconstruction to analyze this variability. It is argued that variability between hominin reconstructions is likely the result of unreliable reconstruction methods and misinterpretation of available evidence. We also discuss the risk of disseminating erroneous ideas about human evolution through the use of unscientific reconstructions in museums and publications. The role an artist plays is also analyzed and criticized given how the aforementioned reconstructions have become readily accepted to line the halls of even the most trusted institutions. In conclusion, improved reconstruction methods hold promise for the prediction of hominin soft tissues, as well as for disseminating current scientific understandings of human evolution in the future.
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Godinho RM, O'Higgins P, Gonçalves C. Assessing the reliability of virtual reconstruction of mandibles. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 172:723-734. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Revised: 05/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Miguel Godinho
- Faculdade das Ciências Humanas e SociaisInterdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArHEB), University of Algarve Faro Portugal
| | - Paul O'Higgins
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology and Hull York Medical SchoolUniversity of York York UK
- Center for Forensic AnthropologyThe University of Western Australia Australia
| | - Célia Gonçalves
- Faculdade das Ciências Humanas e SociaisInterdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArHEB), University of Algarve Faro Portugal
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Coutinho Nogueira D, Dutour O, Coqueugniot H, Tillier AM. Qafzeh 9 mandible (ca 90-100 kyrs BP, Israel) revisited: μ-CT and 3D reveal new pathological conditions. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2019; 26:104-110. [PMID: 31351220 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2019.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2019] [Revised: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 06/22/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to provide new insights into growth patterns and health of Mousterian hunter-gatherers dated to ca. 90-100 kyrs B.P. from the Qafzeh site. MATERIALS An almost complete skeleton, including the mandible from the Qafzeh site (Qafzeh 9). METHODS Micro-CT and medical imaging techniques are used to explore inaccessible inner structures and to assess the etiology of identified lesion. RESULTS Mandibular and dental conditions appear to be growth-related skeletal disorders. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, Qafzeh 9 offers the earliest evidence of associated mandibular and dental pathological conditions (i.e. non-ossifying fibroma of the mandible, pre-eruptive intracoronal resorption and osteochondritis dissecans of the temporomandibular joint) among early anatomically modern humans, and more generally among Middle Palaeolithic hominins in Southwestern Asia. The diagnoses can be added to other growth-related disorders of skulls previously documented from the Qafzeh site (Tillier, 1999; Tillier et al., 2001), suggesting a quite high and exceptional incidence of these conditions compared to those of Palaeolithic populations. SIGNIFICANCE Identification of pathological conditions in subadults from Eurasia dated to the Middle Palaeolithic is documented less often than in adult skeletons. Hence, new results from immature fossil remains are particularly important to our understanding of the past. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH This research will be extended to the rest of the skeleton, then to all Qafzeh specimens in order to broaden our understanding of this anatomically modern group.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Coutinho Nogueira
- EPHE - PSL Research University, Paris - Chair of Biological Anthropology Paul Broca, France; UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS - University of Bordeaux, Bâtiment B8, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615 Pessac cedex, France.
| | - O Dutour
- EPHE - PSL Research University, Paris - Chair of Biological Anthropology Paul Broca, France; UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS - University of Bordeaux, Bâtiment B8, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615 Pessac cedex, France.
| | - H Coqueugniot
- EPHE - PSL Research University, Paris - Chair of Biological Anthropology Paul Broca, France; UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS - University of Bordeaux, Bâtiment B8, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615 Pessac cedex, France.
| | - A-M Tillier
- UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS - University of Bordeaux, Bâtiment B8, Allée Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, CS 50023, 33615 Pessac cedex, France.
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Profico A, Buzi C, Davis C, Melchionna M, Veneziano A, Raia P, Manzi G. A New Tool for Digital Alignment in Virtual Anthropology. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2019; 302:1104-1115. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.24077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2018] [Revised: 09/08/2018] [Accepted: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
| | - Costantino Buzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
| | - Christopher Davis
- Department of Anthropology; University of Texas at Austin; Austin Texas
| | - Marina Melchionna
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse; Università di Napoli Federico II; Naples Italy
| | - Alessio Veneziano
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology; John Moores University; Liverpool UK
| | - Pasquale Raia
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse; Università di Napoli Federico II; Naples Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
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Scott NA, Strauss A, Hublin JJ, Gunz P, Neubauer S. Covariation of the endocranium and splanchnocranium during great ape ontogeny. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0208999. [PMID: 30566462 PMCID: PMC6300334 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
That great ape endocranial shape development persists into adolescence indicates that the splanchnocranium succeeds brain growth in driving endocranial development. However, the extent of this splanchnocranial influence is unknown. We applied two-block partial least squares analyses of Procrustes shape variables on an ontogenetic series of great ape crania to explore the covariation of the endocranium (the internal braincase) and splanchnocranium (face, or viscerocranium). We hypothesized that a transition between brain growth and splanchnocranial development in the establishment of final endocranial form would be manifest as a change in the pattern of shape covariation between early and adolescent ontogeny. Our results revealed a strong pattern of covariation between endocranium and splanchnocranium, indicating that chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans share a common tempo and mode of morphological integration from the eruption of the deciduous dentition onwards to adulthood: a reflection of elongating endocranial shape and continuing splanchnocranial prognathism. Within this overarching pattern, we noted that species variation exists in magnitude and direction, and that the covariation between the splanchnocranium and endocranium is somewhat weaker in early infancy compared to successive age groups. When correcting our covariation analyses for allometry, we found that an ontogenetic signal remains, signifying that allometric variation alone is insufficient to account for all endocranial-splanchnocranial developmental integration. Finally, we assessed the influence of the cranial base, which acts as the interface between the face and endocranium, on the shape of the vault using thin-plate spline warping. We found that not all splanchnocranial shape changes during development are tightly integrated with endocranial shape. This suggests that while the developmental expansion of the brain is the main driver of endocranial shape during early ontogeny, endocranial development from infancy onwards is moulded by the splanchnocranium in conjunction with the neurocranium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia A. Scott
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz, Leipzig, Germany
- Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Martinstrasse, Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - André Strauss
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Philipp Gunz
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Simon Neubauer
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz, Leipzig, Germany
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Rmoutilová R, Guyomarc’h P, Velemínský P, Šefčáková A, Samsel M, Santos F, Maureille B, Brůžek J. Virtual reconstruction of the Upper Palaeolithic skull from Zlatý Kůň, Czech Republic: Sex assessment and morphological affinity. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0201431. [PMID: 30161127 PMCID: PMC6116938 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The incomplete cranium discovered at the Zlatý kůň site in the Bohemian Karst is a rare piece of skeletal evidence of human presence in Central Europe during the Late Glacial period. The relative position of cranial fragments was restored and missing parts of the cranium were virtually reconstructed using mirroring and the Thin-plate splines algorithm. The reconstruction allowed us to collect principal cranial measurements, revise a previous unfounded sex assignment and explore the specimen's morphological affinity. Visual assessment could not reliably provide a sexual diagnosis, as such methods have been developed on modern populations. Using a population-specific approach developed on cranial measurements collected from the literature on reliably sexed European Upper Palaeolithic specimens, linear discriminant analysis confirmed previous assignment to the female sex. However, caution is necessary with regard to the fact that it was assessed from the skull. The Zlatý kůň specimen clearly falls within the range of Upper Palaeolithic craniometric variation. Despite the shift in cranial variation that accompanied the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the Zlatý kůň skull exhibits a morphological affinity with the pre-LGM population. Several interpretations are proposed with regard to the complex population processes that occurred after the LGM in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebeka Rmoutilová
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- UMR 5199 PACEA, University of Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, Pessac, France
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Petr Velemínský
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Alena Šefčáková
- Department of Anthropology, Slovak National Museum-Natural History Museum, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Mathilde Samsel
- UMR 5199 PACEA, University of Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, Pessac, France
| | - Frédéric Santos
- UMR 5199 PACEA, University of Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, Pessac, France
| | - Bruno Maureille
- UMR 5199 PACEA, University of Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, Pessac, France
| | - Jaroslav Brůžek
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Reconstructing the Neanderthal brain using computational anatomy. Sci Rep 2018; 8:6296. [PMID: 29700382 PMCID: PMC5919901 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-24331-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2018] [Accepted: 03/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study attempted to reconstruct 3D brain shape of Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens based on computational neuroanatomy. We found that early Homo sapiens had relatively larger cerebellar hemispheres but a smaller occipital region in the cerebrum than Neanderthals long before the time that Neanderthals disappeared. Further, using behavioural and structural imaging data of living humans, the abilities such as cognitive flexibility, attention, the language processing, episodic and working memory capacity were positively correlated with size-adjusted cerebellar volume. As the cerebellar hemispheres are structured as a large array of uniform neural modules, a larger cerebellum may possess a larger capacity for cognitive information processing. Such a neuroanatomical difference in the cerebellum may have caused important differences in cognitive and social abilities between the two species and might have contributed to the replacement of Neanderthals by early Homo sapiens.
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Kochiyama T, Ogihara N, Tanabe HC, Kondo O, Amano H, Hasegawa K, Suzuki H, Ponce de León MS, Zollikofer CPE, Bastir M, Stringer C, Sadato N, Akazawa T. Reconstructing the Neanderthal brain using computational anatomy. Sci Rep 2018. [PMID: 29700382 DOI: 10.1038/s41598–018–24331–0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The present study attempted to reconstruct 3D brain shape of Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens based on computational neuroanatomy. We found that early Homo sapiens had relatively larger cerebellar hemispheres but a smaller occipital region in the cerebrum than Neanderthals long before the time that Neanderthals disappeared. Further, using behavioural and structural imaging data of living humans, the abilities such as cognitive flexibility, attention, the language processing, episodic and working memory capacity were positively correlated with size-adjusted cerebellar volume. As the cerebellar hemispheres are structured as a large array of uniform neural modules, a larger cerebellum may possess a larger capacity for cognitive information processing. Such a neuroanatomical difference in the cerebellum may have caused important differences in cognitive and social abilities between the two species and might have contributed to the replacement of Neanderthals by early Homo sapiens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takanori Kochiyama
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, Kyoto, 619-0288, Japan
| | - Naomichi Ogihara
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, 223-8522, Japan.
| | - Hiroki C Tanabe
- Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan.
| | - Osamu Kondo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Hideki Amano
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, 223-8522, Japan
| | - Kunihiro Hasegawa
- Automotive Human Factors Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, 305-8566, Japan
| | - Hiromasa Suzuki
- Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan
| | | | | | - Markus Bastir
- Paleoanthropology Group, Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - Chris Stringer
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Norihiro Sadato
- Department of Cerebral Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, 444-8585, Japan
| | - Takeru Akazawa
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kochi, 782-8502, Japan
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Schlager S, Profico A, Di Vincenzo F, Manzi G. Retrodeformation of fossil specimens based on 3D bilateral semi-landmarks: Implementation in the R package "Morpho". PLoS One 2018; 13:e0194073. [PMID: 29554122 PMCID: PMC5858772 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Accepted: 02/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Many fossil specimens exhibit deformations caused by taphonomic processes. Due to these deformations, even important specimens have to be excluded from morphometric analyses, impoverishing an already poor paleontological record. Techniques to retrodeform and virtually restore damaged (i.e. deformed) specimens are available, but these methods genenerally imply the use of a sparse set of bilateral landmarks, ignoring the fact that the distribution and amount of control points directly affects the result of the retrodeformation. We propose a method developed in the R environment and available in the R-package "Morpho" that, in addition to the landmark configurations, also allows using a set of semi-landmarks homogeneously distributed along curves and on surfaces. We evaluated the outcome of the retrodeformation, regarding the number of semi-landmarks used and its robustness against asymmetric noise, based on simulations using a virtually deformed gorilla cranium. Finally, we applied the method to a well-known Neanderthal cranium that exhibits signs of taphonomically induced asymmetry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Schlager
- Department Biological Anthropology, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Antonio Profico
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
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Michikawa T, Suzuki H, Moriguchi M, Ogihara N, Kondo O, Kobayashi Y. Automatic extraction of endocranial surfaces from CT images of crania. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0168516. [PMID: 28406901 PMCID: PMC5390982 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2016] [Accepted: 03/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The authors present a method for extracting polygon data of endocranial surfaces from CT images of human crania. Based on the fact that the endocast is the largest empty space in the crania, we automate a procedure for endocast extraction by integrating several image processing techniques. Given CT images of human crania, the proposed method extracts endocranial surfaces by the following three steps. The first step is binarization in order to fill void structures, such as diploic space and cracks in the skull. We use a void detection method based on mathematical morphology. The second step is watershed-based segmentation of the endocranial part from the binary image of the CT image. Here, we introduce an automatic initial seed assignment method for the endocranial region using the distance field of the binary image. The final step is partial polygonization of the CT images using the segmentation results as mask images. The resulting polygons represent only the endocranial part, and the closed manifold surfaces are computed even though the endocast is not isolated in the cranium. Since only the isovalue threshold and the size of void structures are required, the procedure is not dependent on the experience of the user. The present paper also demonstrates that the proposed method can extract polygon data of endocasts from CT images of various crania.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takashi Michikawa
- Center for Environmental Innovation Design for Sustainability, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
- * E-mail:
| | - Hiromasa Suzuki
- Department of Precision Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masaki Moriguchi
- Department of Information and System Engineering, Chuo University, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Naomichi Ogihara
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Osamu Kondo
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yasushi Kobayashi
- Department of Anatomy, National Defense Medical College, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan
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