Scenes from the Past: Initial Investigation of Early Jurassic Vertebrate Fossils with Multidetector CT

Bolliger, Stephan A.; Ross, Steffen; Thali, Michael J.; Hostettler, Bernhard; Menkveld-Gfeller, Ursula

doi:10.1148/rg.325115742

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Nevertheless, the here described procedure shall not replace a traditional approach to osteological/osteometric studies, but, although somewhat demanding and time-consuming, allows the examination of such "hidden" specimens in detail, without the bias otherwise imposed by their actual inaccessibility. The major limitation of our study is that we examined a single and very exceptional specimen, inevitably also limiting comparability with related studies involving computed tomographic analysis of fossilised prehistoric hominin or animal skeletal remains [15,[19][20][21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiographic analysis and virtual cleaning of a bioarchaeological remain enclosed in mineral deposits from a limestone cave

et al. 2020

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In limestone caves, environmental processes often cause alterations of human or animal skeletal remains, complicating classical analytical methods. Exemplary, a proximal femoral skeletal fragment, enclosed by a thick layer of speleothemic calcite deposits, was discovered during the exploration of the Bedara cave in Žumberak, Croatia. An examination without removal of the surrounding mineral deposits, possibly leading to damage of the specimen, was, therefore, desirable. We describe and discuss the applied techniques, including clinical computed tomography, virtual cleaning by a specially developed segmentation protocol using an open-source DICOM viewer, and virtual visualisation and dimensioning using computer-aided design software, so that this “hidden” specimen could be non-invasively examined in great detail. We also report on the circumstances and origin of the find, the results of radiocarbon dating, and its anatomical and taxonomic identification, according to which, the bone fragment belonged to a wild boar ( Sus scrofa ) from the timeframe of the Middle Eneolithic Retz-Gajary culture in the region (4,781 ± 35 years before present). This study provides a reference for future paleontological and anthropological analyses, seeking to unlock the enormous potential of anatomical studies of comparable skeletal remains that are either petrified or enclosed in speleothemic deposits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiographic analysis and virtual cleaning of a bioarchaeological remain enclosed in mineral deposits from a limestone cave

et al. 2020

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“…“Electronic preparation,” in contrast, is based on volume data (typically CT or µ‐CT scans), which allows access at any point of the object. Segmentation can be used again to separate the object from the matrix (Prossinger et al, ; Zollikofer and Ponce de León, ; Benazzi et al, ; Bolliger et al, ). This is a fairly straightforward job in cases where the fossilized bone displays a distinctly different range of gray values (densities) than the matrix does.…”

Section: The Six Operational Areas Of Virtual Anthropologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Anthropology

Weber

2014

American J Phys Anthropol

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Comparative morphology, dealing with the diversity of form and shape, and functional morphology, the study of the relationship between the structure and the function of an organism's parts, are both important subdisciplines in biological research. Virtual anthropology (VA) contributes to comparative morphology by taking advantage of technological innovations, and it also offers new opportunities for functional analyses. It exploits digital technologies and pools experts from different domains such as anthropology, primatology, medicine, paleontology, mathematics, statistics, computer science, and engineering. VA as a technical term was coined in the late 1990s from the perspective of anthropologists with the intent of being mostly applied to biological questions concerning recent and fossil hominoids. More generally, however, there are advanced methods to study shape and size or to manipulate data digitally suitable for application to all kinds of primates, mammals, other vertebrates, and invertebrates or to issues regarding plants, tools, or other objects. In this sense, we could also call the field "virtual morphology." The approach yields permanently available virtual copies of specimens and data that comprehensively quantify geometry, including previously neglected anatomical regions. It applies advanced statistical methods, supports the reconstruction of specimens based on reproducible manipulations, and promotes the acquisition of larger samples by data sharing via electronic archives. Finally, it can help identify new, hidden traits, which is particularly important in paleoanthropology, where the scarcity of material demands extracting information from fragmentary remains. This contribution presents a current view of the six main work steps of VA: digitize, expose, compare, reconstruct, materialize, and share. The VA machinery has also been successfully used in biomechanical studies which simulate the stress and strains appearing in structures. Although methodological issues remain to be solved before results from the two domains can be fully integrated, the various overlaps and cross-fertilizations suggest the widespread appearance of a "virtual functional morphology" in the near future. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 156:22-42,

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“…Advances in CT technologies, combined with the discovery of sites and localities with denser matrix, containing fewer inclusions have, however, shown promising results for the application of CT technologies to unprepared sediments [ 45 ]. A study by Bollinger and colleagues [ 46 ] describes the use of multi detector CT in locating, identifying and examining fossil remains of 3 crocodilians embedded in hard shale whilst Rahman and colleagues [ 47 ] saw the combination of computer science and the study of past life as creating “ an incredibly exciting field” .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovering Hominins - Application of Medical Computed Tomography (CT) to Fossil-Bearing Rocks from the Site of Malapa, South Africa

Smilg

Berger

2015

PLoS ONE

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In the South African context, computed tomography (CT) has been used applied to individually prepared fossils and small rocks containing fossils, but has not been utilized on large breccia blocks as a means of discovering fossils, and particularly fossil hominins. Previous attempts at CT imaging of rocks from other South African sites for this purpose yielded disappointing results. For this study, 109 fossil- bearing rocks from the site of Malapa, South Africa were scanned with medical CT prior to manual preparation. The resultant images were assessed for accuracy of fossil identification and characterization against the standard of manual preparation. The accurate identification of fossils, including those of early hominins, that were not visible on the surface of individual blocks, is shown to be possible. The discovery of unexpected fossils is reduced, thus lowering the potential that fossils could be damaged through accidental encounter during routine preparation, or even entirely missed. This study should significantly change the way fossil discovery, recovery and preparation is done in the South African context and has potential for application in other palaeontological situations. Medical CT imaging is shown to be reliable, readily available, cost effective and accurate in finding fossils within matrix conglomerates. Improvements in CT equipment and in CT image quality are such that medical CT is now a viable imaging modality for this palaeontological application.

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Scenes from the Past: Initial Investigation of Early Jurassic Vertebrate Fossils with Multidetector CT

Cited by 5 publications

References 14 publications

Radiographic analysis and virtual cleaning of a bioarchaeological remain enclosed in mineral deposits from a limestone cave

Radiographic analysis and virtual cleaning of a bioarchaeological remain enclosed in mineral deposits from a limestone cave

Virtual Anthropology

Discovering Hominins - Application of Medical Computed Tomography (CT) to Fossil-Bearing Rocks from the Site of Malapa, South Africa

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