Crania Canaria 2.0: constructing a virtual skull collection
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2022.16082Keywords:
3D scanning, virtual archaeology, virtual anthropology, aboriginal Canarian, digital skulls, museum collectionsAbstract
El Museo Canario stores a large collection of aboriginal skulls that have been essential to the study of the origin and chronology of the population of the Canary archipelago since the 19th century. Regrettably, research has been dominated by biased and racial interpretations of both bioarchaeological and cultural evidence. When scientific racism and craniometric studies were rejected, studies of the Canarian indigenous skulls variability was also abandoned without replies. However, digital technologies and virtual sciences allow us to improve research and re-evaluate old paradigms. In this work, we present a digitalisation project aiming to construct a virtual database of the indigenous Canarian skulls, using a simple method of digitalisation that is very suitable to deal with large collections- The procedure, involving a portable 3D structured light scanner has allowed us to digitally reproduce more than 400 skulls stored at Museo Canario. This work offers a wide variety of possibilities for archaeology and anthropology. The versatility of 3D digital models enables the generation of interactive documentation, educational material for digital conservation and dissemination purposes. Indeed, 3D models are easily shared and can be displayed over diverse web-based repositories and online platforms and so, creating virtual online museums. We have created a profile in Sketchfab (https://sketchfab.com/craniacanaria2.0) where we intend to upload gradually the complete virtual collection of skulls we have realised. Moreover, digital skulls can serve as research objects. We discuss the advantages of studying 3D objects in a computerised environment, which includes traditional anthropometric studies (linear measurements and angles) but also 3D geometric morphometric approaches. In fact, in future studies, we will apply 3D geometric morphometrics for reassessing skull variation of ancient Canarians going beyond old paradigms and taking into account the latest advances in archaeology, anthropology and genetics in Canarian research.
Highlights:
- El Museo Canario stores an exceptional human skull collection that has served as the basis for numerous studies seeking to reveal the origin and chronology of the indigenous population.
- This study presents an easy methodology for obtaining digital imagery using a 3D surface scanner, which allows constructing a virtual skull collection comprising more than 400 individuals.
- Virtual 3D models have numerous advantages and applications in anthropology and archaeology, not only improving research but also permitting the re-evaluation of old paradigms.
Downloads
References
Alberto, V., Delgado, T., Moreno, M. & Velasco, J. (2019). La dimensión temporal y el fenómeno sepulcral entre los antiguos canarios. Zephyrus, LXXXIV, 139-160. https://doi.org/10.14201/zephyrus201984139160
Badawi-Fayad, J. & Cabanis, E. A. (2007). Three-dimensional procrustes analysis of modern human craniofacial form. The Anatomical Record, 290(3), 268-276. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.20442
Balzeau, A., Grimaud-Hervé, D., & Jacob, T. (2005). Internal cranial features of the Mojokerto child fossil (East Java, Indonesia), Journal of Human Evolution, 48(6), 535-553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.01.002
Barsanti, S. G., & Guidi, G. (2013). 3D digitization of museum content within the 3DICONS project. ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, II-5/W1, 151-156. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprsannals-II-5-W1-151-2013
Bauer, C. C. & Harvati, K. (2015). A virtual reconstruction and comparative analysis of the KNM-ER 42700 cranium. Anthropologischer Anzeiger, 72(2), 129-140. https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2015/0387
Bookstein, F. L. (1991). Morphometric Tools for Landmark Data: Geometry and Biology. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511573064
Cardini, A. & Loy, A. (2013). Virtual morphology and evolutionary morphometrics in the new millenium. Hystrix, the Italian Journal of Mammalogy, 24(1).
Champion, E. & Rahaman, H. (2021). Survey of 3D digital heritage repositories and platforms. Virtual Archaeology Review, 11(23), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2020.13226
Cyark Organization. Cyark project. Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://www.cyark.org/
Conde-Valverde, M., Martínez, I., Quam, R. M., Rosa, M., Velez, A. D., Lorenzo, C., (…) & Arsuaga, J. L. (2021). Neanderthals and Homo sapiens had similar auditory and speech capacities. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5(5), 609- 615. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01391-6
Courtenay, Ll. A., Yravedra, J., Huguet, R., Aramendi, J., Maté-González, M. A., González-Aguilera, D. & Arriaza, M. C. (2019). Combining machine learning algorithms and geometric morphometrics: A study of carnivore tooth marks, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 522, 28-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.03.007
Cui, Y. & Wu, X. (2015). A geometric morphometric study of a Middle Pleistocene cranium from Hexian, China. Journal of Human Evolution, 88, 54-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.08.001
Departamento Prehistoria y Arqueología, Universidad de Granada. La craneoteca. Retrieved August 10, 2021, from http://prehistoriayarqueologia.es/craneoteca/
de Quatrefages, M. A., & Hamy, E. (1874). La race de Cro-magnon dans l'espace et dans le temps. Bulletin de la Societé d'Anthropologie de Paris. II Serie. Tome 9, 260-266. https://doi.org/10.3406/bmsap.1874.3048
El Museo Canario. Visita virtual 3D. Retrieved October 3rd, 2020, from https://mpembed.com/show/?m=3UcQkysU2eC&mpu=78
Erolin, C., Jarron, M. & Csetenyi, L. J. (2017). Zoology 3D: Creating a digital collection of specimens from the D'Arcy
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.daach.2017.11.002
Thompson Zoology Museum. Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage 7, 51-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.daach.2017.11.002
Esquivel, F. J., Alarcón Moreno, L., Esquivel, J. A., & Fernández-García, M.ª I. (2019). Arqueología virtual en la terra
sigillata y aplicaciones estadísticas. Láser escáner vs. Fotogrametría. Lucentum, XXXVIII, 243-254. https://doi.org/10.14198/LVCENTVM2019.38.11
Farrujia de la Rosa, A. J. (2007). Arqueología y franquismo en Canarias. Política, poblamiento e identidad (1939-1969).
Canarias Arqueológica Monografías, 2. Tenerife: Museo Arqueológico de Tenerife.
Fregel R., Ordóñez A. C., Santana-Cabrera J., Cabrera V. M., Velasco-Vázquez J., Alberto V., (…), & Bustamante, C. D. (2019). Mitogenomes illuminate the origin and migration patterns of the indigenous people of the Canary Islands. PLoS ONE, 14(3), e0209125. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209125
Fusté, M. (1958-1959). Algunas observaciones acerca de la antropología de las poblaciones prehistóricas y actuales de Gran Canaria. El Museo Canario, XIX-XX(65-72), 1-27.
Fusté, M. (1959). Contribution à l'anthropologie de la Grande Canarie. L'Anthropologie. 63, 295-318.
Fusté, M. (1960). Esqueletos humanos procedentes de una cueva sepulcral aborigen en Gran Canaria. El Museo Canario 73-74, 193-200.
Fusté, M. (1961-1962). Estudio Antropológico de esqueletos inhumados en túmulos de la región de Galdar. El Museo Canario, XXII-XXIII(77-84), 1-122.
García-Medrano, P., Maldonado-Garrido, E., Ashton, N., & Ollé, A. (2020). Objectifying processes: The use of geometric morphometrics and multivariate analyses on Acheulean tools. Journal of Lithic Studies, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.4327
Gould, S. J. (1981). The mismeasure of man. New York: W. W. Norton and Company.
Gunz, P., Bookstein, F. L., Mitteroecker, P., Stadlmayr, A., Seidler, H., & Weber, G. W. (2009). Early modern human diversity suggests subdivided population structure and a complex out-of-Africa scenario. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(15), 6094-6098.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0808160106
Guyomarc'h, P., de Samsel, M., Courtaud, P., Mora, P., Dutailly, B., & Villotte, S. (2017). New data on the paleobiology of the Gravettian individual L2A from Cussac cave (Dordogne, France) through a virtual approach. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 14, 365-373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.06.005
Herrera Piqué, A. (1979). 100 años del Museo Canario. Aguayro, 115, 4-10.
Hublin, J. J. (2013). Free digital scans of human fossils. Nature, 497(183). https://doi.org/10.1038/497183a
Human fossil record. The human fossil record: A digital resource for research and education. Retrieved October 21st, 2021, from https://human-fossil-record.org/
Jalandoni, A., Domingo, I. & Taçon, P. S. C. (2018). Testing the value of low-cost Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry for metric and visual analysis of rock art. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 17, 605-616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.12.020
Jiménez-Arenas, J. M., Bienvenu, T., Toro-Moyano, I., Ponce de León, M. S., & Zollikofer, C. P. E. (2019). Virtual reconstruction and re-evaluation of the Neanderthal frontal bone from Carigüela Cave (Granada, Spain). Quaternary Science Reviews, 217, 89-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.03.014
Kyriakou, P., & Hermon, S. (2019). Can I touch this? Using natural interaction in a museum augmented reality system. Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 12, 00088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.daach.2018.e00088
Lee, M. & Gerdau-Radonic, K. (2020). Variation within physical and digital craniometrics. Forensic Science International, 306, 110092. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.110092
Lewis J. E., de Gusta D., Meyer M. R., Monge J. M., Mann, A. E., & Holloway, R. L. (2011). The mismeasure of science:
Stephen Jay Gould versus Samuel George Morton on skulls and bias. PLoS Biol, 9(6), e1001071. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001071
Mafart, B., Guipert, G., Alliez-Philip, C., & Brau, J. J. (2007). Virtual reconstitution and new palaeopathological study of the Magdalenian child's skull of Rochereil. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 6(8), 569-579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crpv.2007.09.019
Martínezâ€Abadías, N., Esparza, M., Sjøvold, T., Gonzálezâ€José, R., Santos, M., & Hernández, M. (2009). Heritability of human cranial dimensions: comparing the evolvability of different cranial regions. Journal of Anatomy, 214, 19-35. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2008.01015.x
Morales, J. I., Lorenzo, C., & Vergès, J. M. (2013). Measuring retouch intensity in lithic tools: A new proposal using 3D scan data. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 22, 543-558. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-013-9189-0
MPI-EVA. Human Evolution Microtomographic Archive. Retrieved October 21st, 2021, from http://paleo.eva.mpg.de/
Nishanbaev, I. (2020). A web repository for geo-located 3D digital cultural heritage models. Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 16, e00139 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.daach.2020.e00139
O'Higgins P. (2000). The study of morphological variation in the hominid fossil record: biology, landmarks and geometry. Journal of Anatomy, 197, 103-120. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-7580.2000.19710103.x
Ortiz García, C. (2016). Antigüedades guanchinescas. Comercio y coleccionismo de restos arqueológicos canarios. Culture & History Digital Journal, 5(2), e017. https://doi.org/10.3989/chdj.2016.017
Ponce de León, M. S., Koesbardiati, T., Weissmann, J. D., Milella, M., Reyna-Blanco, C. S., Suwa, G., (…). & Zollikofer, C.P.E. (2018). Human bony labyrinth is an indicator of population history and dispersal from Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(16), 4128-4133. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1717873115
Ponce de León, M. S., Bienvenu, T., Marom, A., Engel, S., Tafforeau, P., Alatorre Warren, J. J. L., (…) & Zollikofer, C. P. E. (2021). The primitive brain of early Homo. Science, 372(6538), 165-171. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz0032
Rangel-de Lázaro, G., Martínez-Fernández, A., Rangel-Rivero, A., & Benito-Calvo, A. (2021). Shedding light on preColumbian crania collections through state-of-the-art 3D scanning techniques. Virtual Archaeology Review, 12(24), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2021.13742
Reinoso-Gordo, J. F., Barsky, D., Serrano-Ramos, A., Solano-García, J. A., León-Robles, C. A., Luzón-González, C., Titton, S., & Jiménez-Arenas, J. M. (2020). Walking among mammoths. Remote sensing and virtual reality supporting the study and dissemination of Pleistocene archaeological sites: The case of Fuente Nueva 3 in Orce, Spain. Sustainability, 12(11), 4785. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114785
Reynolds, M. S., Barry, M. D., Loterring, N., Schmutz, B., Wilson, L. J., Meredith, M., & Gregory, L. S. (2017).
Standarized anthropological measurements of postcranial bones using three-dimensional models in CAD software. Forensic Science International, 278, 381-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.07.015
Santa Jubélls, C. (2003). La primera museología: las adquisiciones iniciales de El Museo Canario. El Museo Canario Noticias, 8, 4-7
Schwidetzky, I. (1957). Hootons Negersklaven. Homo, 8, 48-49. https://doi.org/10.1021/ie50574a903
Schwidetzky, I. (1963). La población prehispánica de las Islas Canarias. Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Volumen 4 de Publicaciones del Museo Arqueológico.
Schwidetzky, I (1980-1981). Population biology of Canary Island. Museo Canario, XLI, 47-56.
Serrano-Ramos, A, Jiménez-Arenas, J. M., & Esquivel, J. A. (2016). Evolución Humana y Antropología Virtual: una propuesta para la docencia y la investigación. Revista Otarq, 1, 267-283. https://doi.org/10.23914/otarq.v0i1.98
Serrano-Ramos, A., Jiménez-Arenas, J. M., & Esquivel, J. A. (2018). Reevaluating human skull variability in aboriginal population of Gran Canaria (Canary Island, Spain): A three-dimensional geometric morphometrics approach. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, S66: 248-249. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23489
Simon, M. N., & Marroig, G. (2015). Landmark precision and reliability and accuracy of linear distances estimated by using 3D computed micro-tomography and the open-source TINA manual landmarking tool software. Frontiers in Zoology, 12, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-015-0101-5
Smithsonian Institute. 3D Program. Retrieved October 21, 2021, from https://3d.si.edu/?utm_source=siedu&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=promo
Titton, S., Barsky, D., Bargalló, A., Serrano-Ramos, A., Vergès, J. M., Toro-Moyano, I., (…) & Jiménez-Arenas, J. M. (2020) Subspheroids in the lithic assemblage of Barranco León (Spain): Recognizing the late Oldowan in Europe. PLoS ONE 15(1), e0228290. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228290
Velasco-Vázquez, J., Alberto-Barroso, V., Delgado-Darias, T., & Moreno-Benítez, M. (2021). A propósito del poblamiento aborigen en Gran Canaria. Demografía, dinámica social y ocupación del territorio. Complutum, 32(1), 167-189. https://doi.org/10.5209/cmpl.76453
Weber, G. W., & Bookstein, F. L. (2011). Virtual Anthopology -A Guide to a New Interdiciplinary Filed. Wien, New York: Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-49347-2_1
Weber, G. W. (2014). Another link between archaeology and anthropology: virtual anthropology. Culture & History Digital Journal, 1, 3-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.daach.2013.04.001
Yravedra, J., Aramendi, J., Maté-González, M. A., Courtenay, Ll. A., & González-Aguilera, D. (2018). Differentiating percussion pits and carnivore tooth pits using 3D reconstructions and geometric morphometrics. PLOS ONE, 13(3): e0194324. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194324
Zollikofer, C., Ponce de León, M. & Lieberman, D., Guy, F., Pilbeam, D., Likius, A., (…) & Brunet, M. (2005). Virtual cranial reconstruction of Sahelanthropus Tchadensis. Nature, 434, 755-759. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03397
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
