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Comparing Endocranial Surfaces: Mesh Superimposition and Coherent Point Drift Registration

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Digital Endocasts

Part of the book series: Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans Series ((RNMH))

Abstract

The endocranial cavity is a major source of information for the assessment of brain morphology in extinct species. Digital molds of the endocranium can be reconstructed from fossil remains. In paleoneurology, these so-called endocasts are examined using shape analysis and multivariate statistical methods to quantify differences among species and individuals. These surfaces are relatively smooth and offer few landmarks; as such, morphometric comparisons are not straightforward, and correspondence search algorithms are necessary to identify loci of equivalent anatomical variation. Many solutions to this so-called correspondence problem have been proposed, but these often require considerable manual input. Here, we present the application in paleoneurology of a correspondence search and symmetrization algorithm originally designed for facial and palatal scans. Homologous representations of surfaces were used to render a computed visualization of differences in shape between modern humans, Neanderthals, archaic humans, and chimpanzees.

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Acknowledgments

JD and JP are supported by the grant SVV-2016-260332. ASPP is funded by the Atapuerca Foundation, Spain. GRL is funded by the International Erasmus Mundus Doctorate in Quaternary and Prehistory consortium (IDQP). EB is supported by the Spanish Government (CGL2012-38434-C03-02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Katedra software a výuky informatiky, Matematicko-fyzikální fakulta, Univerzita Karlova, Malostranské náměstí 25, 118 00, Praha 1, Czech Republic

    Ján Dupej & Josef Pelikán

  2. Katedra antropologie a genetiky člověka Přírodovědecká fakulta, Univerzita Karlova, Viničná 7, 128 43, Praha 2, Czech Republic

    Ján Dupej & Hana Píšová

  3. Área de Prehistoria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain

    Gizéh Rangel de Lázaro

  4. Programa de Paleobiología, Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain

    Ana Sofia Pereira-Pedro & Emiliano Bruner

  5. Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain

    Gizéh Rangel de Lázaro

Authors
  1. Ján Dupej
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  2. Gizéh Rangel de Lázaro
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  3. Ana Sofia Pereira-Pedro
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  4. Hana Píšová
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  5. Josef Pelikán
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  6. Emiliano Bruner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ján Dupej .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. CENIEH, Burgos, Spain

    Emiliano Bruner

  2. Keio University, Yokohama, Japan

    Naomichi Ogihara

  3. Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

    Hiroki C. Tanabe

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Dupej, J., Rangel de Lázaro, G., Pereira-Pedro, A.S., Píšová, H., Pelikán, J., Bruner, E. (2018). Comparing Endocranial Surfaces: Mesh Superimposition and Coherent Point Drift Registration. In: Bruner, E., Ogihara, N., Tanabe, H. (eds) Digital Endocasts. Replacement of Neanderthals by Modern Humans Series. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-56582-6_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-56582-6_10

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo

  • Print ISBN: 978-4-431-56580-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-4-431-56582-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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