The anatomical bases of the 3D digital facial approximation of the Zlatý kůň 1 woman (ca. 43,000 BP)

Cicero Moraes; Francesco Maria Galassi; Luca Sineo; Jiří Šindelář; Elena Varotto; Joanna Mietlińska-Sauter; Nathalie Antunes-Ferreira; Michael E. Habicht; Thiago Beaini

doi:10.18778/1898-6773.87.2.04

Authors

Cicero Moraes Arc-Team Brazil, Sinop-MT, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9479-0028
Francesco Maria Galassi University of Lodz, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Department of Anthropology, Lodz, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8902-3142
Luca Sineo University of Palermo, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), Department of Biological; Department of Cultures and Societies, Palermo, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8634-2295
Jiří Šindelář Surveyor, GEO-CZ, Tábor-Czech Republic https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9771-669X
Elena Varotto University of Palermo, Department of Cultures and Societies, Palermo, Italy; Flinders University, College of Humanities, Art and Social Sciences, Archaeology, Adelaide-SA, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6637-9402
Joanna Mietlińska-Sauter University of Lodz, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Department of Anthropology, Lodz, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9185-7493
Nathalie Antunes-Ferreira Egas Moniz School of Health and Science, Egas Moniz Center for Interdisciplinarity Research, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0146-6369
Michael E. Habicht Flinders University, College of Humanities, Art and Social Sciences, Archaeology, Adelaide-SA, Australia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0193-9672
Thiago Beaini Federal University of Uberlândia, Faculty of Dentistry, Uberlândia-MG, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0034-624X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1898-6773.87.2.04

Keywords:

Zlatý kůň 1, facial approximation, digital, anatomy, prehistory, anthropology

Abstract

In 1950 on Mount Zlatý kůň (‘Golden Horse’) in modern-day Czech Republic a system of caves was discovered. During many years of research in this area, human and animal osteological remains have been excavated, among which the most interesting ones were nine fragments of a female skull, now dated to ca. 43,000 yrs BP which are one of the earliest known anatomically modern humans in Eurasia. The aim of this research was to use purely digital techniques to: (1) to reconstruct the skull based on the 3D data of preserved fragments, (2) to approximate the probable appearance of the female it belonged to, and (3) to analyze the calculated shape of the reconstructed mandible and volume of the neurocranium in the context of similarities and differences with other representatives of the genus Homo. Computer techniques used in this research constitute a new, original approach to the problem of 3D analyses and may be useful primarily in bioarchaeological sciences, where metric analyses of the most valuable bone artifacts are often severely limited due to the incompleteness of the material available for research. The digital techniques presented here may also contribute significantly to the field of surgery, with the possibility of being adapted for applications in cranial prosthetics and post-traumatic reconstructive surgery.

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