Potencijalne primjene virtualne i proširene stvarnosti u arheologiji

Digitalna dokumentacija i virtualna 3D rekonstrukcija postaju standardni dio svakog arheološkog istraživanja. Digitalizacija arheološke dokumentacije, osim što ubrzava rad na terenu, otvara i nove mogućnosti prezentacije i vizualizacijenalaza i lokaliteta. Uz pomoć novih tehnologija kao što su virtualna i proširena stvarnost, moguće je na interaktivan i edukativan način rekonstruirati izgled nekog lokaliteta kroz različite periode u povijesti, pa i onaj njegov ''neopipljivi'', ali sastavni dio: njegovo stanovništvo, njihova zanimanja, svakodnevni život, društvene odnose ili religijske običaje. Vrijednost i korist virtualne i proširene stvarnosti za arheologiju mogu biti velike, kako u prezentaciji arheološke baštine široj javnosti i privlačenju veće publike u muzeje, tako i u lakšojvizualizaciji i testiranju hipoteza i teorija o formacijama i promjenama lokaliteta kroz vrijeme

Beacon Virtua: A Virtual Reality Simulation Detailing the Recent and Shipwreck History of Beacon Island, Western Australia

Beacon Virtua is a project to document and virtually preserve a historically significant offshore island as a virtual reality experience. In 1629, survivors of the wreck of VOC ship Batavia took refuge on Beacon Island, Western Australia, followed by a mutiny and massacre. In the 1950s the island became the base of a successful fishing industry, and in 1963 human remains from Batavia were located. The fishing community has recently been moved off the island to protect and preserve the site and allow a thorough archaeological investigation of the island. Beacon Virtua exposes users to the history of both the shipwreck survivors and the fishing community. The project uses the virtual environment development software Unity to present a simulation of the island, with 3D models of buildings and jetties, photogrammetric 3D reconstructions of graves and other features, 360° photographic panoramas, and information on the history of the island. The experience has been made available on a wide range of different platforms including via a web-page, as part of an exhibition, and on head mounted displays (VR headsets). This chapter discusses the features included in Beacon Virtua, the storytelling techniques used in the simulation, the challenges encountered and solutions used during the project

Development and integration of digital technologies addressed to raise awareness and access to European underwater cultural heritage. An overview of the H2020 i-MARECULTURE project

The Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) represents a vast historical and scientific resource that, often, is not accessible to the general public due the environment and depth where it is located. Digital technologies (Virtual Museums, Virtual Guides and Virtual Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage) provide a unique opportunity for digital accessibility to both scholars and general public, interested in having a better grasp of underwater sites and maritime archaeology. This paper presents the architecture and the first results of the Horizon 2020 iMARECULTURE (Advanced VR, iMmersive Serious Games and Augmented REality as Tools to Raise Awareness and Access to European Underwater CULTURal heritage) project that aims to develop and integrate digital technologies for supporting the wide public in acquiring knowledge about UCH. A Virtual Reality (VR) system will be developed to allow users to visit the underwater sites through the use of Head Mounted Displays (HMDs) or digital holographic screens. Two serious games will be implemented for supporting the understanding of the ancient Mediterranean seafaring and the underwater archaeological excavations. An Augmented Reality (AR) system based on an underwater tablet will be developed to serve as virtual guide for divers that visit the underwater archaeological sites

Digital Contents for Enhancing the Communication of Museum Exhibition: The Pervival Project

The PERVIVAL project aims at developing an interactive system with the preliminary function of explaining a complex museum collection in a simple and immediate way and allowing the visitor to better understand the museum collection he is about to see. In particular, the interactive system aims at enhancing the understanding of the collections of funeral furnishings of Egyptians, which are characterized by a multiplicity of objects of rich symbolism and connected to each other through complex funeral rituals. The idea is to explain the religious creed of ancient Egyptians through the objects placed in the tomb, having in this way a double benefit: enlightening the rituals and placing the objects back in their primary function. In this way, the knowledge of the visitor is not only enlarged through the description of something that is described on papyruses or inscriptions (hence, not comprehensible) but also the proper function of every single object will be explained through the connection among them, as a function of amulets or goods necessary to travel through the World of the Dead. The connection between the different objects allows a much greater understanding of the exposed collection that would be perceived in this way not as a set of single isolated pieces, but as a harmonious set of complementary elements between they represent a specific historical-cultural context

DIGITAL CONTENTS FOR ENHANCING THE COMMUNICATION OF MUSEUM EXHIBITION: THE PERVIVAL PROJECT

Abstract. The PERVIVAL project aims at developing an interactive system with the preliminary function of explaining a complex museum collection in a simple and immediate way and allowing the visitor to better understand the museum collection he is about to see. In particular, the interactive system aims at enhancing the understanding of the collections of funeral furnishings of Egyptians, which are characterized by a multiplicity of objects of rich symbolism and connected to each other through complex funeral rituals. The idea is to explain the religious creed of ancient Egyptians through the objects placed in the tomb, having in this way a double benefit: enlightening the rituals and placing the objects back in their primary function. In this way, the knowledge of the visitor is not only enlarged through the description of something that is described on papyruses or inscriptions (hence, not comprehensible) but also the proper function of every single object will be explained through the connection among them, as a function of amulets or goods necessary to travel through the World of the Dead. The connection between the different objects allows a much greater understanding of the exposed collection that would be perceived in this way not as a set of single isolated pieces, but as a harmonious set of complementary elements between they represent a specific historical-cultural context.</p

Design, Development, and Evaluation of a Virtual Reality Serious Game for School Fire Preparedness Training

Immersive virtual reality (VR) is a technology that can be effective for procedural skills training through game-based simulations such as serious games. The current study describes the instructional design, development, and evaluation of the FSCHOOL fire preparedness serious game in a cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE-VR) for elementary school teachers. The main game mechanics include a storytelling scenario, enhanced realism, freedom of movement, levels, and points corresponding to the learning mechanics of instruction, action, simulation, discovery, repetition, and imitation. The game was developed in Unity 3D with the help of the Fire Dynamics Simulator and a script to emulate and visualize fire propagation. The game featured three levels to respond to school fire safety regulations and was evaluated by elementary school teachers (N = 33) in Greece. A comparative quantitative study was conducted with experimental and control groups. The results indicate that the VR serious game is appropriate for training, providing challenge, enjoyment, and mastery

Representing archaeological uncertainty in cultural informatics

This thesis sets out to explore, describe, quantify, and visualise uncertainty in a cultural informatics context, with a focus on archaeological reconstructions. For quite some time, archaeologists and heritage experts have been criticising the often toorealistic appearance of three-dimensional reconstructions. They have been highlighting one of the unique features of archaeology: the information we have on our heritage will always be incomplete. This incompleteness should be reflected in digitised reconstructions of the past. This criticism is the driving force behind this thesis. The research examines archaeological theory and inferential process and provides insight into computer visualisation. It describes how these two areas, of archaeology and computer graphics, have formed a useful, but often tumultuous, relationship through the years. By examining the uncertainty background of disciplines such as GIS, medicine, and law, the thesis postulates that archaeological visualisation, in order to mature, must move towards archaeological knowledge visualisation. Three sequential areas are proposed through this thesis for the initial exploration of archaeological uncertainty: identification, quantification and modelling. The main contributions of the thesis lie in those three areas. Firstly, through the innovative design, distribution, and analysis of a questionnaire, the thesis identifies the importance of uncertainty in archaeological interpretation and discovers potential preferences among different evidence types. Secondly, the thesis uniquely analyses and evaluates, in relation to archaeological uncertainty, three different belief quantification models. The varying ways that these mathematical models work, are also evaluated through simulated experiments. Comparison of results indicates significant convergence between the models. Thirdly, a novel approach to archaeological uncertainty and evidence conflict visualisation is presented, influenced by information visualisation schemes. Lastly, suggestions for future semantic extensions to this research are presented through the design and development of new plugins to a search engine

3D Recording and Interpretation for Maritime Archaeology

This open access peer-reviewed volume was inspired by the UNESCO UNITWIN Network for Underwater Archaeology International Workshop held at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia in November 2016. Content is based on, but not limited to, the work presented at the workshop which was dedicated to 3D recording and interpretation for maritime archaeology. The volume consists of contributions from leading international experts as well as up-and-coming early career researchers from around the globe. The content of the book includes recording and analysis of maritime archaeology through emerging technologies, including both practical and theoretical contributions. Topics include photogrammetric recording, laser scanning, marine geophysical 3D survey techniques, virtual reality, 3D modelling and reconstruction, data integration and Geographic Information Systems. The principal incentive for this publication is the ongoing rapid shift in the methodologies of maritime archaeology within recent years and a marked increase in the use of 3D and digital approaches. This convergence of digital technologies such as underwater photography and photogrammetry, 3D sonar, 3D virtual reality, and 3D printing has highlighted a pressing need for these new methodologies to be considered together, both in terms of defining the state-of-the-art and for consideration of future directions. As a scholarly publication, the audience for the book includes students and researchers, as well as professionals working in various aspects of archaeology, heritage management, education, museums, and public policy. It will be of special interest to those working in the field of coastal cultural resource management and underwater archaeology but will also be of broader interest to anyone interested in archaeology and to those in other disciplines who are now engaging with 3D recording and visualization

A new method for examining hominin dietary strategy: occlusal microwear vector analysis of the Sangiran 7 Homo erectus molars

Many hominin species are best physically represented and understood by the sum of their dental morphologies. Generally, taxonomic affinities and evolutionary trends in development (ontogeny) and morphology (phylogeny) can be deduced from dental analyses. More specifically, the study of dental remains can yield a wealth of information on many facets of hominin evolution, life history, physiology and ecological adaptation; in short, the organisms paleobiomics. Functionally, teeth present information about dietary preferences, that is, the dietary niche in ecological context and, in turn, masticatory function. As the amount and types of information that can be gleaned from 2-dimensional tooth measurement exhaust themselves, 3-dimensional microscopic modeling and analysis presents a largely fertile ground for reexamination and reinterpretation of dental characteristics (Bromage et al., 2005). As such, a novel, non-destructive approach has been developed which combines the work of two established technologies (confocal microscopy and 3D modeling) adapted specifically for the purpose of mineralized tissue imaging. Through this method, 3D functional masticatory and therefore occlusal molar microwear is able to be visualized, quantified and comparatively analyzed to assess dietary preference in Javanese Homo erectus. This method differs from other microwear investigative techniques (defining 'pits'- vs- 'scratches', microtexture analysis etc.) in that it defines a molars masticatory microwear functional interactions in 3-dimensions as its baseline dataset for further interpretations and analyses. Due to poor specimen collection techniques employed during the first half of the 20th century, the very complex geologic nature of the Sangiran Dome and disagreements over its chronostratigraphy, only very few scientific works have addressed the Sangiran 7 (S7) Homo erectus molar collection (n=25) (e.g. Grine and Franzen, 1994; Kaifu, 2006). Grine and Franzen's (1994) work was a predominantly qualitative initial assessment of the specimens and identified five specimens that might better be ascribed to a fossil pongid rather than H. erectus. They also noted several molars to which tooth position (M1 or M2) was unable to be ascribed (Grine and Franzen, 1994). Kaifu (2006) comparatively examined crown sizes in several S7 molars. The Sangiran 7 collection originates from two distinct geologic horizons: ten from the older Sangiran Formation (S7a, ~1.7 to 1.0mya) and fifteen from the younger, overlying Bapang Formation (S7b, ~1.0 to .7mya). During this million year period, Java was connected to the mainland during various glacio-eustatic low-stands in sea level. These mainland connections varied in size, extent, climatic condition and therefore in faunal and floral composition. As the S7 sample may be representative of the earliest Homo erectus migrants into Java and spans long durations of occupation, its investigation yields potential to understand the various influences climatic and ecogeographic fluctuations had on these populations. Since the sample consists only of teeth, an ecodietary approach has been deemed the most logical and appropriate investigative approach. Questions regarding the intra- and inter- S7 sample relationships will also be addressed. By comparing various aspects of the H. erectus dentition against that of hunter/ gatherer's (H/G) whose diet is known, functional dietary similarity can be directly correlated. Thus a comparative molar sample consisting of the below historic hunter/ gather's (n=63) has been included in order to assess H. erectus's diet in ecological context: Inuit (n=9), Pacific Northwest Tribes (n=11), Fuegians (n=11), Australian Aborigines (n=12) and Bushman (n=20). Methodologically, this approach produces a 3D facet microwear vector (fmv) signature for each molar which can then be compared for statistical similarity. Microwear (and, as such, the fmv signatures) was defined by the regular, parallel striations found on specific cusp facets known to arise from patterned, directional masticatory movements. This differs significantly from post-mortem or taphonomic microwear which produces striations at irregular angles on multiple, non-masticatory surfaces (Peuch et al.1985, Teaford, 1988). A 'match value' is produced to determine the similarity of two molars fmv's. The 'match values' are ranked (high to low) and these rankings are used to statistically analyze and infer dietary preference: between Sangiran 7 (as an entire sample) compared against that of the historic hunter/ gatherer H. sapiens whose diet and ecogeography is known; within S7a and S7b and then among the S7 sample (eg. S7a-vs-S7b); whether the purported Pongo molars actually affiliate well with H. erectus, the hunter-gatherer's or if they demonstrate distinctly different fmv signatures altogether; whether fmv signatures are useful in distinguishing molars whose tooth position is in doubt (eg. M1 or M2). When compared against individual H/G molars, the results show that Sangiran 7 H. erectus most closely correlates with Bushmen across all areas of fmv signature analysis. However, within broader dietary categories (yearly reliant on proteinaceous foods; seasonally reliant on proteinaceous foods; not reliant on proteinaceous foods), it was found that H. erectus most closely allied with the two hunter/ gatherer subpopulations associated with the 'Seasonally reliant on proteinaceous foods' (Australian Aboriginals and Pacific Northwest Tribes). There was also evidence for dietary change or specialization over time. As the environment changed during occupation by the earlier Sangiran to the later Bapang individuals, the dietary preference shifted from a focus on vegetative foods to a diet much more inclusive of proteinaceous resources. These results are considered logical within the larger ecogeographic and chronostratigraphic context of the Sangiran Dome during the Pleistocene. However, a larger sample would be needed to confirm this. Although general dietary preferences can be drawn from this method, it is not possible at present to define specific foods consumed on a daily basis (eg. tubers or tortoise meat). Out of the five specimens possibly allied with Pongo, S7-14 matched at the 'high' designation with a hunter/ gatherer, S7-62 matched 'moderately', S7-20 matched 'low' while the remaining two were not able to be matched with any other teeth for various reasons. Although designation to Pongo cannot be ruled on at this time using this method, it does demonstrate that at least two of the teeth correlate well with various hunter/ gatherer's who do not share dietary similarity with Pongo. This suggests their designation as Pongo should be more closely reevaluated. As for the four specimens whose tooth position was unsure, S7-14 matched 'highly' with 1st molars, S7-62 and S7-78 matched 'moderately' with 2nd and 1st molars respectively while S7-20 only matched at the 'low' designation. Although this approach is still exploratory, it adds another analytical tool for use in defining tooth position. In sum, this method has demonstrated its usefulness in defining and functionally analyzing a novel 3D molar microwear dataset to interpret dietary preference. Future work would include a pan- H. erectus molar sample in order to illuminate broader populational, taxonomic and dietary correlations within and amoung all H. erectus specimens. A larger, more heterogenous historic H/G sample would also be included in order to provide a wider dietary comparative population. This method can be further extended to include and compare any and all hominins as well as any organism which produces micro wear upon it molars. Also, the data obtained and resultant fmv signature diagrams have the potential to be incorporated into 3D VR reconstructions of mandibular movement thus recreating mastication in extinct organisms and leading to more robust anatomical and physiological investigations especially when viewed in the context of larger environmental conditions or changes.Viele Hominiden-Arten sind überwiegend durch fossile Zahnreste bekannt und durch deren Morphologie definiert. Systematische Zugehörigkeit und evolutionäre Trends in der Individualentwicklung (Ontogenese) und in der Konstruktion (Phylogenese) können durch Zahnanalysen abgeleitet werden. Daher liefert die Untersuchung von fossilen Zähnen eine Fülle von Informationen über die Evolution früher Hominiden, wie z.B. zur Lebensgeschichte sowie zur physiologischen und ökologischen Adaptation an den Lebensraum (Human Paleobiomics). Funktionelle Interpretationen der Zähne lassen Rückschlüsse auf Nahrungspräferenzen, das ökologische Umfeld, und die Kaufunktion zu. Die traditionellen Methoden zweidimensionaler Vermessungen von Zähnen wurden seit einigen Jahren von dreidimensionalen Methoden und Analysen abgelöst, die innovative Ansätze für die Interpretation dentaler Eigenschaften ermöglichen (Bromage et al., 2005). Für die vorliegende Untersuchung von Hartgeweben wurde eine zerstörungsfreie Methode entwickelt, die zwei sich schnell weiterentwickelnde Technologien koppelt, die konfokale Mikroskopie und das 3D-Modeling. Hiermit können sowohl funktionelle 3D Kaubewegung als auch okklusale Abnutzungsspuren bei Molaren („Microwear“) dargestellt, quantifiziert und vergleichend analysiert werden, um Nahrungspräferenzen von Homo erectus aus Java zu analysieren. Die hier angewendete Methode unterscheidet sich von den üblichen „Microwear“-Techniken (z.B. Bewertung von „Gruben“ und „Kratzern“, Mikrotexturanalyse, etc.), da die funktionelle Molaren-„Microwear“ Interaktion des Kauvorganges räumlich dargestellt als Datengrundlage für die Interpretation definiert wird. Die Grundlage für die vorliegende Arbeit ist die Sammlung G.H.R. v. Koenigswald aus Sangiran, Java, die im Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut Frankfurt am Main kuratiert wird. Aufgrund ungenauer Angaben zu Alter und Chronostratigraphie der Hominidenfunde aus Sangiran, die auf unzureichende Sammlungsstrategien während der ersten Hälfte des 20sten Jahrhunderts und die sehr komplexen Geologie des Sangiran Doms zurückgehen, wurden bislang nur wenige Arbeiten zur H. erectus Molarensammlung Sangiran 7 (S7) (n=25) veröffentlicht (z.B. Grine und Franzen, 1994; Kaifu, 2006). Grine und Franzen (1994) erreichten mit ihrer Arbeit eine erste qualitative Einschätzung der Stücke und identifizierten fünf der vermeintlichen H. erectus Zähne als einem fossilen Pongiden zugehörig. Bei einigen Stücken ist es nicht eindeutig, ob es sich hierbei um einen ersten oder zweiten Molaren handelt (Grine und Franzen, 1994). Kaifu (2006) untersuchte vergleichend die Kronengröße bei einigen S7 Molaren. Die Sangiran 7 Sammlung stammt aus zwei verschiedenen geologischen Horizonten: Zehn Exemplare stammen aus der älteren Sangiran Formation (S7a, ca. 1,7 bis 1,0 Mio. Jahre) und fünfzehn Zähne aus der jüngeren, darüber liegenden Bapang Formation (S7b, ca. 1 bis 0,7 Mio. Jahre). Während dieser Periode war Java mit dem südostasiatischen Festland verbunden, da aufgrund langanhaltender Vereisungen der Meeresspiegel deutlich niedriger stand als heute. Diese Verbindungen zum Festland variierten in Größe und Ausdehnung je nach klimatischen Bedingungen und bedingten somit unterschiedliche Floren- und Faunenzusammensetzungen in Java. Die S7 Sammlung repräsentiert, zumindest teilweise, die ersten H. erectus Immigranten in Java und insgesamt, den langen Zeitraum den diese Frühmenschen auf Java siedelten. Die Untersuchung der fossilen Reste erlaubt daher Hinweise zu den verschiedenen klimatischen Einflüssen und ökogeografischen Schwankungen auf diese frühmenschliche Population. Da die S7 Sammlung nur aus Zahnmaterial besteht, bietet sich eine nahrungsspezifische Untersuchung mit ökologischem Aspekt an. Fragen zur inner- und zwischenartlichen Beziehung in der S7 Sammlung werden ebenfalls untersucht. Beim Vergleich der H. erectus Zähne mit denen von Jäger und Sammlerpopulationen (H/G) mit bekanntem Nahrungsspektrum kann eine funktionsnahrungsspezifische Beziehung überprüft werden. Daher wurde eine vergleichende Auswahl an Molaren von Jäger/Sammler Populationen (n=63) hinzugezogen, um die Nahrung von H. erectus im ökologischen Kontext zu beurteilen: Inuit (n=9), „Pacific Northwest Tribes“ (n=11), Feuerländer (n=11), australische Aborigines (n=12) und Buschmänner (n=20). Untersucht wurde die sogenannte „Microwear“, parallele Striationen, die auf bestimmten Zahnfacetten durch die gerichteten Kaubewegungen entstanden sind. Von jedem Molaren wurden die Vektoren der Hauptstriationen bestimmt (3D facet-microwearvector – fmv) und statistisch verglichen. Durch die Kaubewegungen entstandene Striationen unterscheiden sich deutlich von postmortal auf taphonomischem Weg entstandenen „Microwear“-Muster. Diese erkennt man durch eine hohe Variabilität von unregelmäßigen Richtungen auf den Kauflächen der Zahnoberfläche (Peuch et al.1985, Teaford, 1988). Ein Übereinstimmungswert „match-value“ wurde definiert, um Übereinstimmungen des 3D fmv zweier Molaren zu bestimmen. Die “match-value”-Werte sind von hoch bis niedrig kategorisiert. Die Rangordnung wurde zur statistischen Analyse herangezogen und erlaubt Rückschlüsse zu den Nahrungspräferenzen der Gruppen. Folgende Vergleichsuntersuchungen wurden durchgeführt: Sangiran 7 (die komplette Sammlung a und b) wurde verglichen mit historischen Jäger/Sammler Proben von H. sapiens, deren Nahrungszusammensetzung und Ökogeografie bekannt ist. Sangiran S7a wurde gegen S7b getestet. Die vermeintlichen Pongo-Molaren in der Sammlung wurden jeweils mit S7a und S7b und mit der kompletten Sangiran 7 Sammlung verglichen, um festzustellen, ob die fmv Signaturen mit H. erectus und/oder den Jäger/Sammler Zähnen übereinstimmen, oder sich grundsätzlich unterscheiden. Bei der Untersuchung der Molaren wurde auch bestimmt, ob die fmv Signatur hilfreich sein kann, um die Zahnposition von isolierten M1 oder M2 Proben zu identifizieren. Beim Vergleich mit den Einzelgruppen der Jäger/Sammler Molaren fiel auf, dass die S7 H. erectus bei allen fmv Analysen eng mit den Buschmann Molaren korrelieren. Buschleute zählen zu den Generalisten, die alle zur Verfügung stehende Nahrung konsumieren, aber sie bevorzugen pflanzliche vor proteinreicher Kost. Werden jedoch breitere Nahrungskategorien zum Vergleich herangezogen (ganzjährige- oder saisonale Abhängigkeit von proteinhaltiger Nahrung, oder unabhängig von Proteinnahrung), fällt eine hohe Ähnlichkeit von H. erectus mit Jäger/Sammlern auf, die saisonal von Proteinnahrung abhängig sind (Aborigines und die „Pacific Northwest Tribes“). Obwohl diese Populationen eine ausreichende Menge pflanzlicher Kost zu sich nehmen, setzt sich deren Nahrung zum größten Teil aus proteinhaltigen Quellen zusammen. Sie neigen dazu, ihre Nahrung anders aufzubereiten als die Buschleute (z.B. Fische trocknen oder kochen in Erdgruben). Es gibt auch Anzeichen für eine zeitliche Änderung und/oder eine Spezialisierung in der Nahrungszusammensetzung. Während der Besiedelung Javas durch die frühen Sangiran Populationen bis zu den späteren Bapang-Frühmenschen, veränderten sich die jeweiligen Lebensräume, was sich auch auf die Nahrungszusammensetzung der Frühmenschen auswirkte. Eine ursprünglich mehr vegetarische Kost wurde im jüngeren Zeitabschnitt durch stärker proteinreiche Nahrung abgelöst. Die Ergebnisse erscheinen schlüssig, wenn man den ökogeografischen und chronostratigrafischen Kontext des Sangiran Doms während des Pleistozäns berücksichtigt, der von einem feuchten, sumpfigen Seengebiet zu einem trockeneren Lebensraum mit offener Waldfläche überging. Allerdings wäre eine höhere Anzahl an Zahnfunden nötig, um dies statistisch zu bestätigen. Obwohl sich mit dieser Methode generelle Nahrungspräferenzen erkennen lassen, ist es nicht möglich spezifische Bestandteile der täglichen Nahrung genauer einzugrenzen, wie etwa der Verzehr von Knollen oder Schildkrötenfleisch. Von den fünf Exemplaren, die als möglicherweise Pongo klassifiziert wurden, passt S7-14 in der Rangstufe „hoch“ zu einem Jäger/Sammler, S7-62 „mittel“, S7-20 „niedrig“, während die übrigen zwei sich keiner Kategorie zuordnen lassen. Wenn also eine morphologische Zuordnung zu Pongo nicht ganz ausgeschlossen werden kann, zeigt sich zumindest, dass wenigstens zwei Zähne gut mit den Jägern/Sammlern korrelieren, die keine Nahrungspräferenz mit Pongo teilen. Diese zwei Molaren sollten daher H. erectus zugeordnet werden. Von den Zähnen, deren Position in der Zahnreihe unsicher war, passt S7-14 „hoch“ zu einem M1, S7-62 und S7-78 passen „mittelmäßig“ zu einem M2 und M1, während S7-20 nur mit „niedrig“ zugeordnet werden kann. Obwohl diese Untersuchungsmethode noch ganz am Anfang steht, bietet sie ein zusätzliches Werkzeug, um die Zahnposition von isolierten Molaren zu bestimmen. Zusammenfassend bieten die neuen Methoden mit der Analyse neuer „Microwear“-Parameter, innovative Grundlagen für die Interpretation von Nahrungspräferenzen. Weiterführende Arbeiten sollten sämtliche verfügbaren H. erectus Molaren einschließen, um Erkenntnisse zur Variabilität von Populationen und die taxonomischen und nahrungsspezifischen Korrelationen innerhalb verschiedener H. erectus Gruppen zu erhalten. Zusätzlich sollte eine größere und heterogenere Stichprobe der modernen Jäger/Sammler Vergleichspopulation hinzugezogen werden, um die Stichprobe zu vergrößern. Die neu entwickelte Methode ist generell auf Säugetiermolaren mit erhaltener „Microwear“ anwendbar und daher von grundlegender Bedeutung für die paläobiologische Analyse fossiler Säugetiere. Die resultierenden fmv Signaturdiagramme bieten zusätzlich die Möglichkeit zur virtuellen 3D-Rekonstruktion von okklusalen Unterkieferbewegungen und somit zur Rekonstruktion und Visualisierung von Kaubewegungen ausgestorbener Säugetiere. Dies lässt Rückschlüsse auf anatomische und physiologische evolutive Neuerwerbungen zu, die durch Umweltbedingungen und –veränderungen verursacht wurden