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Computed Tools for Paleoneurology

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Human Paleoneurology

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Bio-/Neuroinformatics ((SSBN,volume 3))

Abstract

The availability of computed tomographic (CT) scans of fossil crania has opened a new chapter in paleoneurology. CT scans have made it possible to create virtual imprints of the braincase—so called endocasts—on the computer, even when the endocranial cavity is filled with stone matrix. CT data have also become invaluable for reconstructing partially complete or damaged fossils. Recent methodological advancements have made it possible to analyse endocranial shape using multivariate statistics and study the evolution and development of the endocranium quantitatively. Here I review (1) methods for quantifying endocranial shape, and (2) techniques of virtual fossil reconstruction. I show how these novel methods can be applied in paleoneurology, and discuss advantages and limitations of these approaches.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Emiliano Bruner and the team from the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana for organizing and hosting the workshop “Human Paleoneurology” and for inviting me to contribute to this book. I want to thank Jean-Jacques Hublin for his support, Simon Neubauer and Nadia Scott for creating the endocranial segmentions shown in the figures of this chapter, and all workshop participants for stimulating discussions. I thank the Institute for Human Evolution at Witwatersrand University (Johannesburg) for allowing CT-scanning of the Taung fossil shown in Figs. 3.1 and 3.3, and I am grateful to Lubov Golovanova and Vladimir Doronichev for providing access to the fossil shown in Fig. 3.8. This research was funded by the Max Planck Society.

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  1. Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Philipp Gunz

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Correspondence to Philipp Gunz .

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  1. National Research Center on Human Evolution, Burgos, Spain

    Emiliano Bruner

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Gunz, P. (2015). Computed Tools for Paleoneurology. In: Bruner, E. (eds) Human Paleoneurology. Springer Series in Bio-/Neuroinformatics, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08500-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08500-5_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-08499-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08500-5

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