A geometric morphometric relationship predicts stone flake shape and size variability

The archaeological record represents a window onto the complex relationship between stone artefact variance and hominin behaviour. Differences in the shapes and sizes of stone flakes-the most abundant remains of past behaviours for much of human evolutionary history-may be underpinned by variation in a range of different environmental and behavioural factors. Controlled flake production experiments have drawn inferences between flake platform preparation behaviours, which have thus far been approximated by linear measurements, and different aspects of overall stone flake variability (Dibble and Rezek J Archaeol Sci 36:1945-1954, 2009; Lin et al. Am Antiq 724-745, 2013; Magnani et al. J Archaeol Sci 46:37-49, 2014; Rezek et al. J Archaeol Sci 38:1346-1359, 2011). However, when the results are applied to archaeological assemblages, there remains a substantial amount of unexplained variability. It is unclear whether this disparity between explanatory models and archaeological data is a result of measurement error on certain key variables, whether traditional analyses are somehow a general limiting factor, or whether there are additional flake shape and size drivers that remain unaccounted for. To try and circumvent these issues, here, we describe a shape analysis approach to assessing stone flake variability including a newly developed three-dimensional geometric morphometric method (\u273DGM\u27). We use 3DGM to demonstrate that a relationship between platform and flake body governs flake shape and size variability. Contingently, we show that by using this 3DGM approach, we can use flake platform attributes to both (1) make fairly accurate stone flake size predictions and (2) make relatively detailed predictions of stone flake shape. Whether conscious or instinctive, an understanding of this geometric relationship would have been critical to past knappers effectively controlling the production of desired stone flakes. However, despite being able to holistically and accurately incorporate three-dimensional flake variance into our analyses, the behavioural drivers of this variance remain elusive

3D MODELS FOR ALL: LOW-COST ACQUISITION THROUGH MOBILE DEVICES IN COMPARISON WITH IMAGE BASED TECHNIQUES. POTENTIALITIES AND WEAKNESSES IN CULTURAL HERITAGE DOMAIN

Nowadays, 3D digital imaging proposes effective solutions for preserving the expression of human creativity across the centuries, as well as is a great tool to guarantee global dissemination of knowledge and wide access to these invaluable resources of the past. Nevertheless, in several cases, a massive digitalisation of cultural heritage items (from the archaeological site up to the monument and museum collections) could be unworkable due to the still high costs in terms of equipment and human resources: 3D acquisition technologies and the need of skilled team within cultural institutions. Therefore, it is necessary to explore new possibilities offered by growing technologies: the lower costs of these technologies as well as their attractive visual quality constitute a challenge for researchers. Besides these possibilities, it is also important to consider how information is spread through graphic representation of knowledge. The focus of this study is to explore the potentialities and weaknesses of a newly released low cost device in the cultural heritage domain, trying to understand its effective usability in museum collections. The aim of the research is to test their usability, critically analysing the final outcomes of this entry level technology in relation to the other better assessed low cost technologies for 3D scanning, such as Structure from Motion (SfM) techniques (also produced by the same device) combined with dataset generated by a professional digital camera. The final outcomes were compared in terms of quality definition, time processing and file size. The specimens of the collections of the Civic Museum Castello Ursino in Catania have been chosen as the site of experimentation

Peramorphosis, an evolutionary developmental mechanism in neotropical bat skull diversity

Background The neotropical leaf‐nosed bats (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) are an ecologically diverse group of mammals with distinctive morphological adaptations associated with specialized modes of feeding. The dramatic skull shape changes between related species result from changes in the craniofacial development process, which brings into focus the nature of the underlying evolutionary developmental processes. Results In this study, we use three‐dimensional geometric morphometrics to describe, quantify, and compare morphological modifications unfolding during evolution and development of phyllostomid bats. We examine how changes in development of the cranium may contribute to the evolution of the bat craniofacial skeleton. Comparisons of ontogenetic trajectories to evolutionary trajectories reveal two separate evolutionary developmental growth processes contributing to modifications in skull morphogenesis: acceleration and hypermorphosis. Conclusion These findings are consistent with a role for peramorphosis, a form of heterochrony, in the evolution of bat dietary specialists

Simple identification tools in FishBase

Simple identification tools for fish species were included in the FishBase information system from its inception. Early tools made use of the relational model and characters like fin ray meristics. Soon pictures and drawings were added as a further help, similar to a field guide. Later came the computerization of existing dichotomous keys, again in combination with pictures and other information, and the ability to restrict possible species by country, area, or taxonomic group. Today, www.FishBase.org offers four different ways to identify species. This paper describes these tools with their advantages and disadvantages, and suggests various options for further development. It explores the possibility of a holistic and integrated computeraided strategy

Doctor of Philosophy in Computing

dissertationStatistical shape analysis has emerged as an important tool for the quantitative analysis of anatomy in many medical imaging applications. The correspondence based approach to evaluate shape variability is a popular method, based on comparing configurations of carefully placed landmarks on each shape. In recent years, methods for automatic placement of landmarks have enhanced the ability of this approach to capture statistical properties of shape populations. However, biomedical shapes continue to present considerable difficulties in automatic correspondence optimization due to inherent geometric complexity and the need to correlate shape change with underlying biological parameters. This dissertation addresses these technical difficulties and presents improved shape correspondence models. In particular, this dissertation builds on the particle-based modeling (PBM) framework described by Joshua Cates' 2010 Ph.D. dissertation. In the PBM framework, correspondences are modeled as a set of dynamic points or a particle system, positioned automatically on shape surfaces by optimizing entropy contained in the model, with the idea of balancing model simplicity against accuracy of the particle system representation of shapes. This dissertation is a collection of four papers that extend the PBM framework to include shape regression and longitudinal analysis and also adds new methods to improve modeling of complex shapes. It also includes a summary of two applications from the field of orthopaedics. Technical details of the PBM framework are provided in Chapter 2, after which the first topic related to the study of shape change over time is addressed (Chapters 3 and 4). In analyses of normative growth or disease progression, shape regression models allow characterization of the underlying biological process while also facilitating comparison of a sample against a normative model. The first paper introduces a shape regression model into the PBM framework to characterize shape variability due to an underlying biological parameter. It further confirms the statistical significance of this relationship via systematic permutation testing. Simple regression models are, however, not sufficient to leverage information provided by longitudinal studies. Longitudinal studies collect data at multiple time points for each participant and have the potential to provide a rich picture of the anatomical changes occurring during development, disease progression, or recovery. The second paper presents a linear-mixed-effects (LME) shape model in order to fully leverage the high-dimensional, complex features provided by longitudinal data. The parameters of the LME shape model are estimated in a hierarchical manner within the PBM framework. The topic of geometric complexity present in certain biological shapes is addressed next (Chapters 5 and 6). Certain biological shapes are inherently complex and highly variable, inhibiting correspondence based methods from producing a faithful representation of the average shape. In the PBM framework, use of Euclidean distances leads to incorrect particle system interactions while a position-only representation leads to incorrect correspondences around sharp features across shapes. The third paper extends the PBM framework to use efficiently computed geodesic distances and also adds an entropy term based on the surface normal. The fourth paper further replaces the position-only representation with a more robust distance-from-landmark feature in the PBM framework to obtain isometry invariant correspondences. Finally, the above methods are applied to two applications from the field of orthopaedics. The first application uses correspondences across an ensemble of human femurs to characterize morphological shape differences due to femoroacetabular impingement. The second application involves an investigation of the short bone phenotype apparent in mouse models of multiple osteochondromas. Metaphyseal volume deviations are correlated with deviations in length to quantify the effect of cancer toward the apparent shortening of long bones (femur, tibia-fibula) in mouse models

Anterior dental loading and root morphology in Neanderthals

Distinguer les incisives et canines des Néanderthaliens de celles des hommes modernes peut représenter un défi dans le cas de dents isolées trouvées dans des collections de musée, ou provenant de contextes stratigraphiques perturbés. De plus, la morphologie de la couronne ne peut être utilisée dans le cas de dents fortement usées. Une étude préliminaire basée sur des échantillons limités et des mesures linéaires (Bailey, 2005) propose que la longueur des racines dentaires à elle seule permet de discriminer taxonomiquement les Néanderthaliens des hommes modernes du Paléolithique supérieur et actuels. Cette thèse teste cette hypothèse pour un échantillon de Néanderthaliens et d'hommes modernes, plus large géographiquement et chronologiquement, en utilisant la micro-tomographie. En plus de l'intérêt taxonomique d'explorer la taille et la forme des racines, nous discutons les implications fonctionnelles de la morphologie racinaire des dents antérieures dans le contexte de l'hypothèse des " dents-utilisées-comme-des-outils ", et des activités para-masticatrices. La première partie a été publiée comme suit : Le Cabec, A., Kupczik, K., Gunz, P., Braga, J., and Hublin, J.J. (2012). Long Anterior Mandibular Tooth Roots in Neanderthals Are Not the Result of their Large Jaws. Journal of Human Evolution, pp. 63, 667-681. DOI: 10.1016/j. jhevol.2012.07.003. Cette partie valide la longueur des racines dentaires en tant qu'outil taxonomique pour distinguer les Néanderthaliens tardifs des hommes modernes du Paléolithique Supérieur et récents. En dépit de l'absence de corrélation entre la taille des racines et la taille de la symphyse mentonnière, les Néanderthaliens ont de grandes racines, pour la taille de leurs mâchoires. Il est alors proposé que les courtes racines des hommes modernes récents résulteraient d'une allométrie négative. La seconde partie a été publiée comme suit : Le Cabec, A., Gunz, P., Kupczik, K., Braga, J. and Hublin, J.J. (2013). Anterior Tooth Root Morphology and Size in Neanderthals: Taxonomic and Functional Implications. Journal of Human Evolution, 64, pp. 169-193. DOI: 10.1016/j. jhevol.2012.08.011. La morphologie racinaire est étudiée à travers un large échantillon d'hominidés fossiles et actuels, couvrant une large période chronologique et une vaste zone géographique. Les plus grandes longueurs racinaires observées chez les Néanderthaliens peuvent avoir résulté de la rétention d'une condition ancestrale. L'attribution taxonomique débattue de certains spécimens est discutée à la lumière de la morphologie racinaire des dents antérieures et montre que la longueur racinaire seule ne devrait pas être considérée comme suffisante pour une diagnose taxonomique. La fréquente présence d'hypercémentose et sa distribution non-homogène autour de l'apex racinaire pour les dents antérieures des Néanderthaliens pourrait refléter le régime de charge exercé sur les dents antérieures, probablement utilisées comme une troisième main.Distinguishing Neanderthal and modern human incisors and canines can be challenging in the case of isolated teeth found in museum collections, or from unclear stratigraphic contexts. In addition, the crown morphology cannot be used in the case of heavily worn teeth. A preliminary study based on limited samples and linear measurements (Bailey, 2005) proposed that root length alone can taxonomically discriminate Neanderthals from Upper Paleolithic and extant modern humans. This thesis investigates whether this remains true for a broader chronological and geographical sample of Neanderthals and modern humans, using micro-computed tomography. In addition to the taxonomic interest of investigating root size and shape, we discuss the functional implications of the anterior root morphology in the context of the 'teeth-as-tools' hypothesis and of para-masticatory activities. The first part was published as: Le Cabec, A., Kupczik, K., Gunz, P., Braga, J., and Hublin, J.J. (2012). Long Anterior Mandibular Tooth Roots in Neanderthals Are Not the Result of their Large Jaws. Journal of Human Evolution, 63, pp. 667-681. DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.07.003. This part validates root length as a taxonomical tool to distinguish late Neanderthals from Upper Paleolithic and recent modern humans. Despite the absence of correlation between root size and symphyseal size, Neanderthals have large roots for the size of their jaws. It is hypothesized that the short roots of extant modern humans result from a negative allometry. The second part was published as: Le Cabec, A., Gunz, P., Kupczik, K., Braga, J. and Hublin, J.J. (2013). Anterior Tooth Root Morphology and Size in Neanderthals: Taxonomic and Functional Implications. Journal of Human Evolution, 64, pp. 169-193. DOI: 10.1016/j. jhevol.2012.08.011. Root morphology is explored across a chronologically and geographically large sample of fossil and extant hominids. Longer roots in Neanderthals may have resulted from the retention of an ancestral condition. The debated taxonomic attribution of some specimens is discussed in light of anterior tooth root morphology and shows that root length alone should not be sufficient for taxonomic diagnosis. The frequent presence of hypercementosis and its non-homogeneous distribution around the root apex in Neanderthal anterior teeth could reflect the loading regime exerted on the front teeth, likely used as a third hand