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A New Virtual Reconstruction of the Ndutu Cranium

  • Dades identificatives

    Identificador: imarina:9295559
    Autors:
    Montiel, GLorenzo, C
    Resum:
    The Ndutu cranium is a partial, fragmented, and distorted hominin specimen from the Lake Ndutu site in Tanzania. It was first reconstructed by R. J. Clarke in 1976 and later revisited using now-outdated techniques. Consequently, features such as facial projection, cranial height/length, and cranial flexion are contestable. Here, we present a new virtual reconstruction following a transparent and replicable approach that employs virtual anthropology techniques to reassemble, mirror, digitally align, complete the cranium, and remove the effect of plastic deformation. Before deciding on an approach to align the unarticulated fragments, we tested the effects of symmetrization and the use of surface semilandmarks on the performance of our tool of choice: the digital alignment tool (DTA), developed by A. Profico and colleagues in 2019. Upon completion, we compare our reconstruction to a sample of Pleistocene hominin crania via geometric morphometrics. Test results reveal that DTA performance varies by fragment and that the use of surface semilandmarks bears no statistically significant advantage. We found our reconstruction to boast a more prognate and narrower face with a less flexed cranium overall than previous reconstruction efforts. The shape of the reconstructed cranial vault of Ndutu resulted closest to Sima de los Huesos (SH) 5, while its sagittal profile was most similar to Kabwe's, lending support to J. L. Arsuaga and colleagues' 1997 work and to P. Rightmire's, respectively. We warn that further work is necessary before settling the debate surrounding Ndutu's phylogeny. However, if our reconstruction hypothesis is held, its inclusion in future morphological studies is granted.
  • Altres:

    Autor segons l'article: Montiel, G; Lorenzo, C
    Departament: Història i Història de l'Art
    Autor/s de la URV: Lorenzo Merino, Carlos
    Paraules clau: Virtual reconstruction Ndutu Lake ndutu Human evolution Evolutionary
    Resum: The Ndutu cranium is a partial, fragmented, and distorted hominin specimen from the Lake Ndutu site in Tanzania. It was first reconstructed by R. J. Clarke in 1976 and later revisited using now-outdated techniques. Consequently, features such as facial projection, cranial height/length, and cranial flexion are contestable. Here, we present a new virtual reconstruction following a transparent and replicable approach that employs virtual anthropology techniques to reassemble, mirror, digitally align, complete the cranium, and remove the effect of plastic deformation. Before deciding on an approach to align the unarticulated fragments, we tested the effects of symmetrization and the use of surface semilandmarks on the performance of our tool of choice: the digital alignment tool (DTA), developed by A. Profico and colleagues in 2019. Upon completion, we compare our reconstruction to a sample of Pleistocene hominin crania via geometric morphometrics. Test results reveal that DTA performance varies by fragment and that the use of surface semilandmarks bears no statistically significant advantage. We found our reconstruction to boast a more prognate and narrower face with a less flexed cranium overall than previous reconstruction efforts. The shape of the reconstructed cranial vault of Ndutu resulted closest to Sima de los Huesos (SH) 5, while its sagittal profile was most similar to Kabwe's, lending support to J. L. Arsuaga and colleagues' 1997 work and to P. Rightmire's, respectively. We warn that further work is necessary before settling the debate surrounding Ndutu's phylogeny. However, if our reconstruction hypothesis is held, its inclusion in future morphological studies is granted.
    Àrees temàtiques: Multidisciplinary sciences Materials science (miscellaneous) Humanities, multidisciplinary Conservation Archeology (arts and humanities)
    Accès a la llicència d'ús: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/
    Adreça de correu electrònic de l'autor: carlos.lorenzo@urv.cat
    Identificador de l'autor: 0000-0001-5706-293X
    Data d'alta del registre: 2024-08-03
    Versió de l'article dipositat: info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
    Enllaç font original: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/6/3/151
    URL Document de llicència: https://repositori.urv.cat/ca/proteccio-de-dades/
    Referència a l'article segons font original: Heritage (Basel). 6 (3): 2822-2850
    Referència de l'ítem segons les normes APA: Montiel, G; Lorenzo, C (2023). A New Virtual Reconstruction of the Ndutu Cranium. Heritage (Basel), 6(3), 2822-2850. DOI: 10.3390/heritage6030151
    DOI de l'article: 10.3390/heritage6030151
    Entitat: Universitat Rovira i Virgili
    Any de publicació de la revista: 2023
    Tipus de publicació: Journal Publications
  • Paraules clau:

    Archeology (Arts and Humanities),Conservation,Humanities, Multidisciplinary,Materials Science (Miscellaneous),Multidisciplinary Sciences
    Virtual reconstruction
    Ndutu
    Lake ndutu
    Human evolution
    Evolutionary
    Multidisciplinary sciences
    Materials science (miscellaneous)
    Humanities, multidisciplinary
    Conservation
    Archeology (arts and humanities)
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